The Start of a Story
by ttrq
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi has ended. Naruto is not only considered a hero in his own village, but also throughout the entire Shinobi world. Hinata is looking for Naruto to be her personal hero. This story is about how Hinata and Naruto age and mature together. I hope that you will enjoy it. Please drop a review (or several), I really appreciate (need) those.
1. Chapter 1

A quick note: Hello everybody. I just wanted to put this in here to let you readers know about a few things. First: This is the first Fanfic that I have written/attempted to write. I really want all of your feedback, so please, tell me what you think about my FanFic. I really want to hear everyone's opinions on this and please, don't hesitate to tell me about the positive and negative things about my story. Once again, I really want to know ways that I could improve. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Newest Chapter

He had been promised that this would have been a simple B-Rank mission, a simple track and kill mission. He, Kiba, Tenten, and Hinata were sent after a group of rogue ninja from the Hidden Stone

Village, who operated mainly in the Land Of Rain.

And now, after only two days of tracking him, Naruto and Hinata had been separated from the rest of the squad, lost all kinds of supplies, and were beaten and bruised by the aid's bodyguards. Naruto looked over at Hinata, who had her veins throbbing on the sides of her beautiful lavender eyes.

"We lost track of him, and Kiba and Tenten too, I can't find them anywhere in the area." She said, disappointed. Naruto sigh and opened his mouth to yell, only to be met by Hinata's palm.

"Please Naruto, d-don't do anything like t-t-that." She was on the verge of tears. Naruto wasn't very good with women at all, but he could tell Hinata was still mourning the loss of her cousin, Neji.

"Don't cry Hinata. I know you feel extremely sad, like the rest of the Hyuga family. I am also mourning the loss of a great comrade too. But you have to be strong. The Fourth Great Shinobi War is over, we won, and the Akatsuki are incredibly weak. All you have to do is remember what you told me when you were saving me from Pain." Hinata jolted upright, remembering what she had said to him. Her eyes were no longer red with sadness, but her checks were with embarrassment. "You don't have to be sad any more Hinata, we can return to the Leaf Village once we deal with this mess. And maybe I could take you somewhere to cheer you up a little bit." Naruto flashed her a friendly smile.

The big boom of thunder startled both of them. "Gosh, does it ever stop raining here in the Land Of Rain." Naruto started to complain. HIinata started to grin a little bit, she always found it funny when Naruto got flustered.

"We should probably find some shelter for the night. We might get sick if we stay out here too long." Started Hinata, before shivering. They already lost their coats and blankets when they were attacked by the rogue ninja, who then took all their supplies and fled.

"That's a good idea. I really need to get my 10 hours of sleep." Naruto responded. "Hey, Hinata, use your Byakugan to find a cave or something nearby." Hinata sighed and pointed to her left. "Oh." The two walked into the cave plopped down in a spot where they could out the entrance, but no one could see in. Hinata shivered and cuddled up against Naruto.

"Uh...Hinata?" He started.

"Sorry, I didn't know it bothered you."

"No... not that. I'm perfectly fine with that. But, your ninja tools are starting to poke into my leg."

"S-Sorry Naruto." Hinata said before adjusting her ninja tools. Naruto felt a rush of anxiety before wondering, _Should I put my arms around her? _Naruto took the risk and put his arm around Hinata, who still had her arms arms around his torso. She looked up to see Naruto's smiling face. He tugged a little bit with his arm, gesturing for her to move closer. She cuddled up against him more. Naruto then put his other arm around Hinata.

Hinata now had a rosy red tone across her face. Then Naruto spoke, "Hinata, did you really mean what you said before you fought Pain? When you said you loved me?" Hinata reran the flashback in her mind over and over.

Feeling quite embarrassed, Hinata said, "Y-Yes Naruto. I meant every word of it. And I don't regret it." Naruto thought she would say that. A smile slowly spread across his goofy face.

"That what I thought." Hinata looked up at him with a startled expression on her face. "If what you say is true, then I want you to go on a date when we get back to the Hidden Leaf. Unless you don't want to, of course."

Hinata was so surprised that she didn't know how to react. She gave him a tight squeeze and said, "Of course Naruto, I would love to go on a date with you." Hinata cheeks were red as roses. And Naruto looked as happy as he had ever been.

"I'm looking forward to it. But, we should probably get to sleep now, we might have a few more days before we find those rogue ninja. Good night Hinata."

"Good night Naruto."

Naruto awoke to a big slobbery lick that went all the way across his face. "Come on Hinata not yet, just a few more minutes."

"That wasn't Hinata you idiot, it was Akamaru. It seems he finally found you two lovebirds in here." Naruto snapped his eyes open to find a smug looking Kiba, and a mischievous looking Tenten staring at him. He looked to his left and found Hinata still clinging to him, asleep.

Naruto removed his arm from around her shoulder and gently shook Hinata at her waist. He noticed how beautiful she looked when she was asleep, like an angel. "Hey Hinata, wake up. Kiba and Tenten found us asleep." Hinata slowly opened her big lavender eyes and looked around at her surrondings.

Then Tenten spoke up,"So what were you two doing last night alone, huh?"

"The only thing that these two were doing was leaving giant tracks in the ground. Even a new Genin could have spotted those tracks a mile away. Good thing we found you two first though."

Naruto shot to his feet, and glared at Kiba. He didn't even realize that Hinata had fallen over because of him.

"N-Naruto." Said a quiet, gentle voice below him. Naruto Realized his mistake and bent over to help Hinata get up. He grabbed her around her waist and under her arm. He had no trouble lifting her up, he noticed Hinata was so light, like a feather.

"Well before you two lovebirds start gawking over each other, we need to get going. We found their hideout when we were looking for you two this morning. Chances are that these rogue ninja are still going to be there. It isn't to far from here, maybe about a kilometer or so away. So, let's go there and take them out shall we?" Said Tenten

"Can we get some water first, I haven't had any any fresh water since we were separated from you guys." Asked Naruto. Kiba sighed and pulled out his bottle, then tossed it to Naruto, who drank about half of it before handing it to Hinata, who then took a few sips and handed it back to Kiba.

"Thanks." Said Hinata.

"Now let's go you two have already wasted enough time already. We still have a mission to complete. You two can cuddle again later." Hinata's cheeks turned rosy and Naruto looked annoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

A note from the author: Hello all. I am just going to tell you right now that I have finished several chapters already, and am waiting to publish them. I am most likely not going to be releasing a new chapter every two days like this. It will normally take about 3+ days to release a new chapter. I am sorry I can't release them much faster than that. I hope that you will continue to enjoy my story. Thank You. And remember to tell me what you think in the comments.

Chapter 2: Return to leaf Village

The four man squad walked through the massive main gates of The Village Hidden In The Leaves. Naruto was walking with the four headbands of the recently deceased rogue ninja in his left, and wishing that Hinata was in his right. Hinata was walking on Naruto's right side, her mind racing about her date with Naruto.

Kiba and Tenten were walking behind them, whispering so that the two in front of them couldn't hear. Naruto was annoyed. He could her them laughing, but he didn't know what they were laughing at. Hinata thought that it was cute, and she had a slight blush on her face.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He took a few steps closer to Hinata, then said, "I've been thinking about what we should do for our date, but I wanted to get your opinion on it too." Kiba and Tenten were absolutely dumbfounded. Jaws dropped to the floor, stopped in their tracks, eyes wide open. Naruto could have told them he was pregnant with Orochimaru's baby and they wouldn't have been more surprised. Even Akamaru looked like Kiba and Tenten.

_Is that really the way that they think about me? Even Akamaru looks like those two. _Naruto thought to himself. Hinata pretended not to notice the two behind them.

"Well actually there is this one movie that I really want to see. Or maybe we could go out to dinner somewhere? Perhaps we could learn a new jutsu from Kakashi sensei or maybe even Iruka sensei?"

"Wow, you really are pretty flexible aren't you? Well, I'll give it some thought and I can pick you up tomorrow at 5 at your house."

"Sure that sounds great." Hinata smiled at thought, _I wonder what that Naruto will come up with? _"Come on Kiba and Tenten, we have have to give a mission report to Lady Tsunade."

"Right!" They both said in unison as they ran to catch up to them. They both were still in shock all the way to Tsunade's office.

Naruto, not even bothering to knock, barged right into Tsunade's office. "Okay old lady, we completed our mission. Can we go now?"

Tsunade, totally ignoring him, pointed right behind him and asked, "What's up with those two back there?"

"Naruto and I are going on a date tomorrow, and this was their response to hearing about it." Hinata said cheerfully. Tsunade stared in disbelief at Naruto, then glanced over at Shizune, who looked like she had just learned that she had a long-lost twin. Tsunade glanced back at Naruto, then glared at him.

"Are you shitting me Naruto? Because I believe this is a bunch of bullshit."

"It's 100% true Grandma! I am going on a date with Hinata tomorrow!" Naruto yelled, happily.

"All right. Someone write a mission report and give it to me soon. Now get out, except for Naruto. I need to share a few words with him." They all left, but Hinata turned around and gave Naruto a shy, but encouraging smile. Naruto sighed and thought to himself, _What could she possibly want? _

The moment they all left Tsunade spoke, "You actually pulled it off, didn't you?" She looked at Shizune and said,"Now I get to go out and drink tonight!" Shizune sighed and muttered something that he could not comprehend. He did hear something about a drunken witch, a motherless baby squid, and several accounts of bullshit.

"Now Naruto, a few things before tomorrow. Number one, treat her and her father nicely, you need to earn Hiashi's respect, especially now that Neji recently was killed. Number two, no sex. You are much too young to be getting involved with that. She doesn't want it either. Number three, please no ramen. Try something new, she will like you more if you be a little more adventureous. She is a very nice girl, so treat her very nicely and be very friendly. Remember this Naruto, be careful." Naruto thanked her and walked out of her office, down the stairs, and out the front doors.

"Hey Naruto!"

"Oh, hey Hinata! I didn't expect you to be out here."

"Oh well, umm... I just thought that we could maybe go for a little walk around the Village before I need to go home to father." Naruto stood there for a second before smiling.

"Sure, I would love to." Hinata walked over to his left side. Hinata started blushing again, but just a little bit. They began to walk around the perimeter of the Village. After a few minutes, Hinata wrapped her arms around his left arm, and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Could we maybe walk a little slower?" Naruto smiled and slowed his pace down a little bit. Hinata found it easier and more relaxing to do it this way. Naruto smiled and kept on walking.

After about 10 minutes Naruto started to slow, then he stopped. Hinata stared at him. She realized that he was staring at The Mountainside Images.

"Hinata, do you think I could be up there someday? With Old Man Third, Old Lady Tsunade? With my dad?"

"Naruto, I know without doubt, that you will be up there with them. I will support you all they way through it."

"Would you really do that for me?" He looked at Hinata, who smiled and nodded. That caused Naruto to smile too. "Come on, after a mission like that you must be pretty hungry. Let's go to Ichiraku and get some ramen, my treat!" Hinata smiled and reached for his arm again."Not this time Hinata." She stopped and looked at his smiling face. She understood and grabbed his hand.

Hinata loved the feel of his hand. It was a little bigger than hers, but it felt soft, it wasn't calloused or scraped or rough. It felt like a pilow. It wasn't as if his hand was overpowering or if it wasn't even holding hers. It felt natural to her.

Naruto felt relaxed and comfortable in Hinata's hand. It was a big small, but that was okay for him. It was as if the softness and tenderness of her hand somehow used a jutsu that made him carefree, as if he was flying away from everything.

Before even realizing it, Naruto had nearly run into the bar stools at Ichiraku. He took his seat next to Hinata.

"Welcome back from your mission Naruto!" Said the jolly old man from behind the conter. "What can I get for you and your lovely date here?"

"Beef Ramen please!"

"I would like Miso Ramen, thank you."

"See Hinata? We're not even on a date, and people think your my date! How about that?" She blushed and giggled a little bit.

"Order Up!"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hello once again. I apologize for these pesky and annoying notes. I hope you can forgive me. Today (Monday March 24) I am going to release two chapters. Why? This chapter, well, it really sucks. Well, I think so. I don't know what you will think. I would personally suggest skipping it. I think it is really bad, it really wasn't that necessary the more that I think about it. The next chapter is much better. Please, head my warnings. I will understand f you don't like it. Enjoy (or not).

Chapter 3: Preparation

"Well Hinata, this is the place. I'll see you tomorrow then!"

"Thank you Naruto. Good bye!" She waved as the walked through the courtyard of the Hyuga complex. Naruto waited until she went inside before setting out to find Sakura. He sprinted through the streets of the Leaf Village, desperately trying to get to Sakura's house.

"Hey! Naruto!" Said a familiar voice from behind him. Naruto whipped around to find Sakura chasing after him.

"Oh hi Sakura. I was actually just around around the village looking for you!" Sakura look surprised.

"Oh really? What do you need me for?"

"Well, how do I put this? I have a date with Hinata tomorrow, and I needed some help preparing for it." Sakura mentally took a step back. _Naruto got a date? With Hinata? I feel really happy for him. _"And I was wondering if you could help me prepare for it?"

Sakura took a moment to take it all once again. "Sure Naruto, I would gladly help you prepare. But first I need to know what you are planning on doing." Naruto took a deep breath and prepared himself, then he told Sakura what he was planning on doing.

"Wow Naruto, I didn't realize that you could come up with something this great. Though we should probably get started getting all the stuff done.''

''Good idea Sakura. Let's get started."

_I wonder what Naruto is planning for us. I hope he has planned something really romantic or really fun. Well, I'll just have to wait another day. After all, I've been waiting for this day for nearly 10 years, ever since I first saw him stand up to those bullies. _

"Hinata."

"Yes father. Do you need help with something?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yes father." Hiashi opened the door and walked in. He loomed over Hinata before sitting next to her on her bed.

"You seem troubled Hinata. Is everything all right with you?"

"Everything is okay father. There is no need to worry."

"Hinata, I can tell when you're hiding something. It's my job as a father to know. Now tell me, what is bothering you? I want to help."

There was no use trying to hide the fact that she had a date. "Well, Naruto asked me to go on a date with him. And I said yes, so now I am feeling quite nervous about it. HE said he would pick me up at 5 tomorrow afternoon." Hiashi took a moment to let this all sink in. He took a deep breath and looked at Hinata.

"I still do not approve of that boy. He may have brought everyone back to life when he beat Pain, but he still is the Jinchuriki. I do not trust him and I do not approve of him. I do not know what you see in that boy, but if he makes you happy then so be it. Thank you for telling me the truth Hinata." And with that he closed the door. Hinata could hear his foot steps slowly fade away.

''Thank you for all your help Sakura. I truly could not have done it without you." Said Naruto, gratefully.

"No problem. It wasn't a big deal at all. Just ask if you need anymore help with Hinata stuff.

"You know I will. And I'm here to help out if you need anything with Lee." Sakura glared at him as he slowly picked up his pace. Now Naruto had one of several things done.

_Well, tomorrow's the big day. My first date with Hinata. I hope everything goes as well as I want it to. If it does, maybe HInata coud become my girlfriend. Gee, I sure hope so, that would be real nice._

Naruto plopped down on his bed all rolled over so that he could face that window. The one second before he closed his eyes nothing was there, after he closed his eyes, Kakashi Sensei had appeared.

"Yo." Naruto panicked for a second before realizing that it was just his sensei.

"What do you want Kakashi Sensei?"

"I just came here to congratulate you on getting a date." Naruto just stared blankly at Kakashi for just a second.

"So, you came here in the middle of the night, just to congratulate me?"

"At least it's better than one of Guy or Lee's incredibly long "youth" speeches. Also, I came to deliver this." Kakashi handed him a small box that was wrapped in gift paper.

"Is this really what I think it is. Pervy sage always brought a box this size whenever he went to "gather information". You better not be joking around with me Kakashi sensei."

"No, no. It's nothing like that. Just open it. Lady Tsunade told me to give it to you." Naruto ripped off the wraping paper and took the lid off the box. Naruto lifted up the object that was in the box.

"A key? She got me a key, to a new apartment?" Naruto discovered some paper inside. "Dear Naruto,'' he started reading out loud. "I am giving you this key because I feel it is an appropriate time to give it to you. This key unlocks your new two-bedroom apartment. Your new apartment is in the same building that you are living in now. From, Lady Tsunade." Naruto looked outside only to see that Kakashi had left.

HInata crawled into her bed and lay her head on her pillow. For the millionth time, she wondered about what would happen tomorrow during her date. _I really hope Naruto has prepared everything. I really want it to be nice. I'm sure he did really well. I don't need to worry, we'll have a great time tomorrow._

"Tsunade, I gave him the package you told me to deliver."

"Thank you Kakashi. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, it's my duty." Then he disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

"Do you think he got the hint Shizune?"

"I really don't know M'Lady."

"Lets just hope he does get the hint."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Date

Naruto had already set up everything where it needed to be. Everything was in place. Nothing could go wrong,

Naruto arrived at the Hyuga complex a few minutes early, so he was forced to wait a little bit. He tried to not show it, but he was actually really nervous. He was worried about what might happen to him if HIashi got mad enough to attack him. But he thought that wouldn't happen.

After a matter of minutes, Hinata came out of the gates of the Hyuga complex.

"Hello HInata. I see that you're ready to go." He flashed her a quick smile.

"O-Of course Naruto. I'm ready. So what are we going to do?" Naruto had a mischievous smile on.

"You'll see Hinata, and I think you'll enjoy it."

"Okay. But I'm trusting you. This had better be really fun. Or else my father will kick your butt." Naruto smiled and laughed a little bit. Hinata blushed and walked over to Naruto. He took Hinata's hand and started guiding her.

"Where are we going Naruto?"

"It's a surprise. You'll just have to wait until we finish our walk." They walked past the Hokage's office just then.

"Here Hinata, this way up the stairs." Hinata was starting to see where this was going. The two trotted up the steps, all the way to the top of the Mountainside Images. Naruto pointed to a little lavender picnic blanket between the images of the third and fourth Hokage.

The two of them sat down on the blanket. Naruto looked over at Hinata, who was looking at the view of the Leaf Village.

"The view is so nice from up here, it looks so beautiful." Naruto looked over at the Leaf Village. He couldn't help but agree with Hinata.

"There is only one thing prettier than this view right here."

"What is that one thing Naruto?" He looked over at her and smiled.

"You." Hinata felt so happy that Naruto thought of her this way. She couldn't really express how she felt any other way, so she blushed. Naruto schooched closer to Hinata, she saw what e was doing and did the same.

"I brought some sandwiches, and some other snacks. I was thinking that we could eat them for dinner." Hinata smiled and looked at the village that was below her. When she is with Naruto, she always feels this way, as if she rules it all. As if no one can bring her down.

"That's very thoughtful of you, I would love to have some." Hinata reached into the basket and pulled out a sandwich that had been cut into triangles. She took a piece of it and put it in her mouth.

"These taste really good. Did you make these all by yourself? I really like these." Naruto gave a fake smile and rubbed the back of his head, the way he always does when he gets nervous.

"Well, actually, I cheated a little bit. I had Sakura help me with making them. But I'm really happy that you like them." Naruto grabbed one and started eating it. Hinata finished hers and began gazing at the Leaf Village.

"Just so you know, this isn't the only thing that we're doing." Hinata heart did a little dance. She was so happy that she would get to spend more time with Naruto tonight.

"W-What else did you plan?"

"I reserved a private tub at the hot springs. You seemed very stressed lately, so I thought we could relax there." Hinata thought about it for a second.

"Would we both be naked in the same tub?"

"We could, or they could supply us with bathing suits to wear. Whichever one you want."Hinata thought about her options here. They could either go to the Hot Springs and bathe, naked or in bathing suits, or she could try to do something else.

"Is there anything else that we can do? It's not that I don't want to go to the springs."

"I know what you mean. We could go see a movie, but I didn't see any that I liked showing around this time."

"Let's go to the Hot Springs. I think I should relax a little and relieve some stress."

"Okay. Just tell me when you want to go. We have the tub until they close tonight." Naruto leaned overand put his arm around Hinata. She did the same and put her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a while. Not taking, but enjoying being in each other's presence. Naruto put a big grin on his face and looked over at his date. She was smiling and looking at the vast blue sky. Then, she lifted her head up and looked at him. Their eyes locked, his smaller blue eyes gazed into her large lavender eyes. They both felt the same feeling. He tilted his head to the right and leaned in. She leaned in to intercept his lips. Their lips met. He kissed her, and she kissed back. Neither of them wanted to ruin it. They both stopped at the same time, they both leaned back and looked at each other with a smile.

"Time to go Naruto." He nodded as if he understood. They both stood up and grasped each other's hand, before proceeding to walk down the steps.

"So Hinata, with or without bathing suits?" They stood at the entrance to the hot springs. The warm steam wafted through the air out the front doors. Naruto already felt extremely relaxed. He could sense all the happy people and positivity and mischief that was going on in there.

"With," she started."We can decide if we want to them off later." Naruto just agreed and proceeded to walk to the front desk with Hinata in his hand.

"We had a reservation for a tub. Under Uzumaki." The lady at the front desk flipped through her book until she found the right name.

"There you are Mr. Uzumaki. Please come with me." The two followed the nice lady around a few tuens until they reached the locker rooms. "Please change in here, we supply you with suits. They are already in there. Please come meet me out here when you finish." They went into their appropriate rooms and changed. They both changed into bathing suits like promised, got their towels and met the lady outside."You private tub is over here, please come with me." Again, the lady showed them through a series of twists and turns until they came out into a secluded area with the tub.

"Thank you ma'am. We got it from here." The lady nodded and walked away. "So Hinata, are you ready?'' Hinata nodded and put her foot into the water, then slowly her leg, then waist and so forth. Naruto nearly jumped in the water, but he got in like Hinata did.

"This feels very nice. I feel so much more relaxed now. Thank you for bringing me here Naruto." Naruto smiled and nodded, it was no big deal after all. Hinata moved around so that they were not facing each other. She cuddled up right next to Naruto, who put his arm around her. Hinata put her head up against his muscular chest, it felt so comfortable to her. She wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Naruto was happy that HInata was so close to him, with her laying on his chest. Naruto wrapped his arm around Hinata's waist, and pulled her a little closer. Naruto tried to loosen his grip a little bit.

"Naruto, please don't let go."

"Okay Hinata, anything you want."

"Thank you Naruto." Naruto out his arm back where it was before. HInata managed an even bigger smile. The two sat in the small tub, embracing each other. Naruto eventually wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her in even closer. He slowly massaged the back of her head. Hinata had a warm and nice feeling rush through her. She felt as if nothing could bother her, and nothing ever would.

"Hinata."

"Y-Yes Naruto."

"I think we should go soon. I had one other thing for us planned." She looked up at his goofy face.

"Okay. B-But, what are we going to do?"

"Don't worry Hinata, I'm sure you'll like it." He gave her a smile, which caused her to blush.

''Okay Naruto. Lets get out." They climbed out of the tub, and walked together, arm in arm, to the locker rooms. Naruto found his clothes in a lump in his locker. Hinata found hers neatly folded and placed in her locker.

_I really hope HInata is having fun. I don't want her to get the wrong idea about what we do next. _Naruto put on his pants and hoped for the best. He didn't want to mess this next part up.

_I wonder what Naruto is planning next. He already did a really good job. I can't wait to see what's next. _Hinata finished putting on her clothes, and walked outside to find Naruto.

"Come on, let's go."

"Wow. This view looks so beautiful."

` "But not nearly as beautiful as you, Hinata." That caused her to blush, really bad. But the last few rays of the sun hid some of the redness of her cheeks. Naruto thought she looked absolutely beautiful with the sun's rays shining on her beautiful face.

They were on the roof of Naruto's new apartment, which had a perfect view of the Mountainside Images. The last part of the date was to watch the sunset over the Mountainside Images. Naruto had never done this before, but he thought that Hinata would have enjoyed it. And so far, she was. She had a big grin on her face, and was staring at the empty space next to Tsunade's face.

"You're going to be next to Tsunade. I just know that you will. And I want to be there to help you all the way."

"Really Hinata? Would you want to do that? Do you want to do that?"

"Ever since I first saw you Naruto, you were always so confident in yourself. You never wanted to give up or stop. I admired you. I wanted to be like you, strong, confident, passionate. I wanted to be with you, ever since I was little. And now, I think I have the chance to. I am willing to take the risk." A huge grin appeared on Naruto's face.

"You were willing to take a risk Hinata, and it paid off." Hinata gasped. "HInata, I want you to be my girlfriend." Hinata took a moment to take it all in, then fainted.

"Hinata are you all right?" she slowly opened her eyes, only to find Naruto staring right at her. She saw her opportunity, and seized it. She moved her head up, an kissed Naruto right on the lips. A surprised expression cam across Naruto's face at first, but he kissed back. Time seemed to slow down for them, as if all the clocks had stopped, as if they were frozen in a picture. Hinata felt an immense wave of joy flush over her entire body.

"Yes, I will."

"Great. But you should probably get home before Hiashi kills me."

"Ok. But just give me one more kiss." That was exactly what he did.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The next day

Naruto woke up in his new apartment with a smile on his face. He wished that he had woken up cradling Hinata in his arms. He longed to hold her body, like he did last night. He sat up and stretched, then looked out the window. _Today's going to be miserable. There are dark storm clouds everywhere. Maybe I should just go back to sleep. Yeah, I like that idea. _But he never got the chance. Shino appeared in the window-frame just then.

Naruto, still half asleep, said, "What could you possibly want Shino? Can't you see I'm trying t go back to sleep."

"Lady Hokage requests to see you at once." Then, before Naruto could complain, he disappeared in a flurry of various bugs.

"Great. What could Old Lady Tsunade possibly want this early." He grudgingly stood up and stretched. Naruto changed into his trademark black and orange jacket and orange pants. He put on his sandals and traveled down the billion flights of stairs that led out of his apartment complex.

He began to travel his usual path towards Tsunade's office. As he walked he looked around at his surroundings, people were still rebuilding the houses and buildings from the Pain attack, though The Leaf Village had almost been completely rebuilt. He saw little kids running around playing ninja, while their parents were watching over them. To Naruto, his home was a happy place. He walked past the Hyuga complex, then stopped to look inside the main gates. _I really wonder what Hinata is doing right now. I hope Hiashi didn't get to mad at her. _He shrugged and kept on walking.

The huge building loomed over him intimidatingly. _I hope that Old Grandma doesn't flip out on me. I followed her conditions just like I promised. _He sighed and walked in through the entrance. He trudged up the stairs, hoping that Tsunade would keep her cool.

Naruto, being the way he is, pushed open the door, only to find Tsunade giving a speech to his eight comrades, HInata was not there.

"-emember to keep a close watch on him. I don't want him to do anything stup-." Just then she noticed that he had entered. "Damn it Naruto! Why the hell do you never knock!" Naruto just looked around at everyone, confused.

"Is there a mission that I'm not a part of here? What's going on?" Naruto said, completely oblivious to Tsunade's question.

"I was talking to your friends about important stuff Naruto." Kiba, Shino, Tenten, Lee, Ino, Shikimaru, Choji, and Sakura stared at Naruto blankly. "I'm finished with all you. You can all go now." They gave a variety of "Thanks"and "Okays" before exiting her office. "Holy shit Naruto, knock next time. That was important information I was giving them."

"So, they are not going on a mission?"

"Of course not you dumbass." She then face-palmed herself.

"Whatever. So, what did you need me for?"

"OH! That's right I needed to see you. And no, I am not sending you on a mission." Naruto grunted to show his disapproval. "Don't you sass me! I am the Hokage you... ugh, never mind. I just wanted to tell you that you did a good job last night. So, I think that you deserve a reward. An A-Rank Mission!" Naruto's eyes widened up, he clenched his fists in front of his chest, the way he does when he gets excited.

"Do you really mean it Old Grandma Tsunade? Is this really true? Would you really do that for me? Seriously?" Tsunade nodded, then smiled.

"But first, I need you to get Hinata. The mission details still aren't complete yet, sorry." Naruto could tell that she didn't mean. Then he frowned.  
He pointed his finger at her and yelled, "All right! But you better have those mission details done by the time I get back!" He ran out the door and flew down the steps. He ran out the front door, then immediately running in the direction of the Hyuga complex.

_That was a really fun date last night. I really had a good time with Naruto. Oh Naruto. I still can't believe you asked me to be your girlfriend. _Hinata zipped up her usual jacket, the lavender colored one with the white sleeves. She smiled and tied her headband around her neck, the usual spot.

"Hinata!" She jumped for a second. _What does father want me for now? _The voice called again. _Wait a minute, that's not father. That's...Naruto! What is he doing here? I sure wonder. _She opened her door and ran to the main courtyard, where she found Naruto belting out her name.

"N-Naruto. I'm right here."

"Quick come with me, Old Lady Hokage wants to see you." And with that, he ran off again.

Just before Hinata was about to follow him, she heard a voice behind her, "What that childish jinchurki want now? HInata, what is the meaning of this?"

"He told me that Lady Tsunade needed to see me."

"Very well, go on then." She gave a quick "Thank You" and took after after Naruto. She could spot Naruto a few buildings ahead of her. _He's even more excited today than usual, I wonder what happened to him._

''Naruto! Wait!" And he actually listened, he slowed down to a halt and turned to face her.

"Come on Hinata! Tsunade is waiting for us. Keep up!." _Us? What does he mean, us? Is something wrong? No, that can't be. We didn't do anything wrong last night. Plus, he's super excited about this. _She followed him all the way to Tsunade's office. Where he finally stopped.

"W-What's going on Naruto? Why did he rush to get here?" He turned and smiled at her.

"It's a secret, Old Lady Hokage didn't tell us yet." _There it is again, that Us. Well, I had better follow him. _He took her hand in his own, fingers intertwined. He gave Hinata a quick tug, signifying that they should go. She followed him, through the door up, up the steps, and into the Hokage's office.

"I see you two are finally here. Good. Naruto, there was another part to your reward, the other part is, you get to go on a A-Rank mission, _with _Hinata." Naruto slowly processed the information, before giving Tsunade a full tooth smile. Hinata looked over at Hinata, with a blush and a smile on her face.

"Really?" They both asked simultaneously. The Hokage just smiled and nodded her head. Even Shizune and Tonton were smiling. The couple just stared at each other with wide eyes, and huge grins. Hinata let go of Naruto's hand, and instead decided to engulf him with her arms. Naruto stared for a second, surprised, then decided to hug her back.

"I can't believe this Naruto. We get to go with each other on a mission, and by ourselves on top of that!"

"I know HInata, this is really very exciting. Now I wouldn't be surprised if Lee or Guy Sensei burst through the window and gave us a ''youth speech''." That mustered a giggle out of Hinata.

"Sorry to ruin the moment you two. But, I'm going to guess that you guys want the mission details?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Mission Part 1

_I am going to love this mission, not only do I get to go on a special A-Rank mission, but I get to go with Hinata! This is practically a dream come true. Even if we have only been dating for two days. It doesn't really matter. I wonder want Hinata thinks about this. She does have a smile on her face. _It was true, she had a big smile on her face.

_I still can't believe that Lady Tsunade let us go on this mission. And father let me go with with Naruto too! This is really great I'm sure that this will be a huge success. We'll do great together. We have no chance of failure. _

Their mission was to infiltrate the Land of Moon, and kill all the to-be assassins who are planning a coup d'etat on the Feudal Lord. Luckily for them, the already knew about half of the plotters, there were twenty total.

"Hey Hinata. Do you think that we will be able to find the rest of them? I mean, we only know of half of them. And, we might not find they rest of them."

"Don't worry Naruto. If Lady Tsunade only sent us two on this mission, I'm sure she believes that we can do it. Have faith Naruto, you don't need to worry. Besides, I'll always help you if you need it." Hinata could sense his confidence increase. He now had a smug look on his face.

"Yeah. You're right HInata. She must have believed in us to only send you and me." He closed his eyes for a second and took in a deep breath. Hinata thought he looked peacful and relaxed.

"Hinata! Look out!" He dove right into Hinata, digging the side of his head into her breats, and wrapping his arms around her body. She was startled for a second, until she saw the kunai fly right above Naruto's head. He rotated his body so that he would take the full impact of the crash. The sudden impact jolted Naruto and Hinata.

"That was quite a dodge there boy. And I see you also had a comfortable place to put your head." The voice sounded female. Hinata started blushing.

"Where are you lady?! Come out and show yourself!" NAruto sounded really mad.

"You know what you two? You really cannot detect anyone when you hare being followed. And that boy especially has a really loud mouth. I can tell that you two are trying to stop our organization, Yami, from killing the feudal lord og the LAnd Of Moon. But you won't stop us. I'll kill you both right here and now."

"Byakugan!" Hinata looked around the area to find her, but came up dry. "I can't find gher Naruto."

"Foolish girl. You'll never find me with those eyes. I am able to stop all chakra flow in my body. What a pity, those are such beautiful eyes." She stepped out from a tree higher up. She was in all black robes, similar to the Akatsuki. She was also wearing an all white mask that covered only her face. Her long, red her flowed from the back of her head. "You two make such a lovely couple. Too bad I have to stop the flow of love right here." Her eyes widened.

"Rasengan!"

''What! When did you have time for that."

"Before you attacked us. I sensed the kunai that made two shadow clones before I tackled my lovely girlfriend. This is for calling her foolish." He pushed the rasengan even further into her lower back. She flung forward, spiraling out of control, crashing through trees as she went. Chunks and little splinters of wood flew everywhere.

"Naruto, we should probably see if she has any intel on her." Naruto god rid of his shadow clones.

"Good idea." The two walked over to the corpse.

"I'm going to take off her mask. Be wary of any traps that she might have on her."

"Wait. Shouldn't I just use my Byakugan and see if there is anything on her body?"

"That is a good suggestion. But remember, she disguised her chakra flow so you couldn't find her, so you might not be able to them. Plus, we should conserve chakra in case more of those Yami people show up." Hinata nodded, there would be no changing his mind. Naruto slowly reached forward, ready to take off the mask.

His fingers enclosed around the face of the mask, slowly tightening his grip.

"Gotcha." NAruto screamed out in pain. His hold was smoldering, steam was rising, and Hinata could feel the heat. "There is no way I'm going to let both of you live."

"Twin Lion Fists!" She slammed her fist into the witch's neck. Steam started to stop flowing, and the heat was dying down. "I stopped all the chakra flow in her body. It seems that she uses her chakra to use a fire style jutsu and heat up her mask."

"You... how did you do that?"

"It's a modified version of the gentlr fist. It shredded your chakra flow in your neck and probably damaged several organs too." Naruto yanked off the mask to reveal a young woman, around aout 25 years old.

"My death means nothing. The cause will not fail. We will show the Land of Monn the light! They have been on the dark side of the moon too long. You brats won't be able to stop us. You might as well just go on home."

"Sorry lady, but we can't do that. This is our mission." She gave a death glare to Naruto, then lolled her head over.

"Let's bury her. It would be the right thing to do." Naruto was reluctant at first, but listened to Hinata's wishes. They buried her, but kept the mask to themselves.

_What? What's happening? I feel...dizzy. Like the world is flipping over and over. Must...stay...up. Shit. _Naruto fell over and hit the ground with a large thud.

"Naruto! Are you alright? I must do something to help him." Hinata picked up his unconscious body and hefted him up over her shoulder. _Great. Where am I going to go now? I wonder what happened to Naruto. Jeez, people are so much heavier when they are asleep._

Hinata found a cave quickly. It wasn't very much trouble, considering she had the Byakugan. She lugged Naruto all the way to the cave. She set him down on the ground. Quickly deciding that Naruto didn't look comfortable, she moved him so that his head, and a little part of his body, was snug in her lap.

_I hope that he wakes up soon. He should considering that the kyuubi will heal him faster. This is becoming quite troublesome pretty fast. _Hinata let out a soft sigh, then remembered that Naruto's hand nad been burnt badly. _I should use some of my medical ninjutsu on that, even though I'm only a beginner. It should be enough to heal most of it. _She removed Naruto from her lap and flipped him on to his back. Hinata grabbed his right hand and laid it palm-up beside her. _These are some nasty burn wounds. But it's the least I could do for him, considering he saved my life from that woman. _

She summoned her healing ninjutsu and hovered her hands over his right hand. The burn marks were fading, and the skin was growing again. Hinata stopped healing him and laid down. _Just looking at him makes me tired, he just looks so peaceful when he's asleep. _Naruto let out a big snore. _Well, maybe not. It doesn't look like he's going to get better too soon. I better get some rest. _She sat up and put her back against the wall. She pulled Naruto's nearly lifeless body toward her. Hinata did what she had done before and put Naruto's head on her lap. _Good night Naruto, I love you._


	7. Chapter 7

A quick little note from me, the author: Hello all. I hope that you have been enjoying the story thus far. And thank you to those who have stuck around for a while. I'm sorry, but I can't make these much faster. Though I would like to be getting these out as fast as possible, I can't. You should be getting these more frequently pretty soon because I will be on vacation for spring break, and I will have a lot of time on my hands. Anyhow, that isn't really what I wanted to tell you guys. This chapter does get a bit smexual, but of course, that's why you have been reading my FanFic. If you feel uncomfortable or weird about reading the sexual parts, then just don't read it. I will give you a little heads-up when it gets to around that part. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: The Waterfall

"Wha-? What's going on? HInata are you here? HInata!"

**Relax kid. It's fine. You have been trapped indide your own head by that one bitch that you fought. Don't worry, you're safe. Your hot ladyfriend took care of you.**

"Hot ladyfriend? Oh! You must mean my girlfriend, Hinata."

**Ladyfriend, girlfriend, same thing. It doesn't matter anyway. **

"You're right. It really doesn't matter. Hey! How do I get out of here? Do you know any way?"

**Believe me kid. I wouldv'e helped you in anyway that I could have, if I coud have helped you. I'm fresh out of ways to get you out. **Naruto made a sour face. **But I do know one thing.**

"What?! You do? Come on tell me. I have a mission to complete here.''

**You amuse me, kid. Always wanting to get out and fulfill your duty. Very well. That evil whore you just fought trapped you in here. This jutsu that she used is very similar to a genjutsu. Genjutsus modify the brain so that if affects one or more of the five senses. But, this is not a genjutsu. What she did was cut off all yours senses in your world, and modified your brain you that your conscience would be trapped here with me. Your conscience is usually in control of how you think and act. But by shutting it down and moving it, you no longer are in control of yourself and you were transported here with me. Make sense?**

"Mostly. I get the gist of it. So do I have to counter her chakra with yours and mine, and bring back my senses and move me back to my brain?"

**The more I think about it the more that it makes sense. Since you right now, talking to me, is your consience. Your conscience is here right now. So that means that she is controlling the form that you are in now. My guess would be that there is a seal or something on your body that is controlling you.**

"Yeah. I found it." Naruto pointed to a small seal on his right shoulder.

**Excellent. Now I will lend you some of my chakra. I'm only giving you a small amount, but it should be enough. Once you get it, you need to focus all of your and my chakra to repel her's out from that seal. That is the only way that it can be done. But, you may only have one chance. If you waste all of your chakra now, she may steal some and use it against you. Thus, making the seal stronger.**

"Okay. I undersand what to do. Kend me some of your chakra now."

**If I lend it t you now, she may steal it and make the seal stronger once it gets into you. I want to be safe. Manuveur your chakra so that it goes around the seal. Understand? **Naruto nodded and did as the kyuubi said. His right shoulder immediately felt weaker, due to the absence of the usual chakra.

"My shoulder feels weak now. But I'm ready. Give me your chakra." The nine-tails did as he asked. Red chakra began to flow in steady streams into Naruto's body. "Time to do this." Naruto focused his and the kyuubi's chakra on the seal on his right shoulder. He began to feel a pushing sensation as the woman's chakra tried to remain in. But his chakra was winning. The woman's chakra began to flow from his body, and Naruto could see the seal begin to fade. He gave one last push before the seal completely faded.

"Wow. It actually worked. Thanks Nine-Tails. I appreciate it."

**Whatever. It doesn't matter that much anyway. I just don't want to be stuck in her with you forever. It was the least I could do to avoid you.**

"Well if you put it that way, I should probably get going then. HInata should be worried about me.

**One more thing before you go tho-**

"You said you did not need me here, so... goodbye!"

**How naive and ignorant. But I like him nonetheless.**

*NOTE* This is the sexual part that I was telling you guys about. Heed my warnings or just keep reading.

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself staring at the rock wall. _What... I thought I passed out in the middle of the forest. Hinata must have brought me here after I conked out. She has to be around her somewhere. I wonder how long I was out. Hinata would know, she always does._ Naruto propped himself up with one hand and scanned the area. _I hear running water. Is there a waterfall nearby? That sounds most likely. I should go check it out. _Naruto had a sour taste in his mouth, he knew that he was thirsty. He followed the sound of the waterfall, it got louder and louder as he went through several twists and turns. Naruto noticed various kunai dug into the side of the walls. _This is what she did so she could find her way back. Smart, just what I would expect her to do. _At last he reached the source of the splashing sound. _Just what I thought, a waterfall. _He noticed a humanoid figure at the base of the waterfall.

"Hinata? Is that you over there? What are you doing?" He immediately knew it was Hinata because she began to cover up.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? I thought that you were still unconcousis."

"Don't be embarresed Hinata. This was just an aciident, besides, I can't see anything."

"Oh. Well you have been out since ywo days ago. So, I decided to clean myself up a bit. I thought that you would be out a little bit longer."

_I was out for two days?! What has she been doing? _"Well, we should probably keep going with our mission. Don't you think?"

"Yeah. That would be a good idea. But ummm... you should probably wash up firrst. You do smell pretty bad. And you're probably really hungry too. We should take a little break first."

"Okay. But on one condition." A mischievous grin spread across his face.

"What is it, Naruto?''

"I get to get in the waterfall, and shower and stuff with you.''

"W-Well...um..."

"Don't worry Hinata we won't do that. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, ever. You don't need to worry."

''Well... okay. Only as long as you keep your word."

"Thank you Hinata." His grin grew even wider. He began to strip down until only his boxers remained.

"Naruto. One more thing. Could you keep your boxers on? I don't feel completely comfortable being completely naked with you just yet."

"Umm... sure. Whatever you want Hinata." He felt a little down, but, it didn't matter that much. He just wanted to make her happy.

''Okay. I'm coming in hot. " Hinata uncovered a little bit to show a little more of her cleavage, but her mega blush stayed the same.

"Hinata, you don't have to cover up. We're dating now and we don't need to hide anything. You can drop your arms now. You don't need to be embarrassed." Hinata was reluctant. She wanted to move her arms for Naruto, but couldn't. She constantly moved her arms, wanting to show Naruto, but she didn't have enough confidence to do it.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto. But, I-I just can't."

"Of course you can Hinata. You just need to believe in yourself, and have some more confience. I know that you haven't done this before, and neither have I. This is a new experience for both of us. And I want to help you through it, just the same way that you are going to help me." He reached out a gently grabbed her arms . "Hinata, I'm going to pull them away now. If you don't want me to, just say so." Hinata didn't want to show Naruto, she was thinking about what Naruto had said about confidence. She took a deep breath and let Naruto pull her arms away.

"Now that wasn't so bad, see? You went through it. Nothing bad happened. Obito didn't come back, Orochimaru didn't, and your father didn't see you. I'm proud of you Hinata, and most of all, I love you." Hinata just stood there, arms by her side, facing Naruto.

"I-I love you too Naruto. Thank you for helping me through this. I feel more confident now, especially around you." She took a step closer to Naruto, then another, then another, until she was rubbing her breasts agains his bare chest. She smiled at him, and he returned it. Hinata stood up on her toes, and Naruto leaned down. For the first time, Naruto was blushing more than Hinata. He lent down the final bit, until their lips met each others'. Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist, pulling her a little bit closer. Hinata wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and they kissed.

At long last, they separated from each other. Hinata took a step back, allowing Naruto to get a good look at her breasts. He began to blush even more. _I should probably stop staring. I'm probably creeping Hinata out like this. But, I really like the view if I could just -._

"N-Naruto." Her soft angel voice snapped Naruto out of his hypnosis, and back into reality.

"Sorry Hinata. You know that I wouldn't do anything that would make you uncomfortable on purpose. I hope that you will forgive me about this."

"It's alright Naruto. I know you didn't do it on purpose. And I most definitely forgive you."

"Thank you Hinata. This means a lot to me."

"Come on, we still have a mission to finish. Remember?"

"Of course. How could I forget about a mission, you now that I would never forget."

"I was just testing you." A silly grin spread across her face, Naruto could tell easily that she was playing around.

"I love you Hinata."

"I love you too Naruto."

"Now, let's go finish this mission."


	8. Chapter 8

(This is just a little gift from me. I feel bad about not posting a chapter within a week of the last. And to celebrate Spring Break a little bit. It's almost Break where I am. So, I'm going to give you guys two chapters in one night.)

A note from (once again) me! Hello again everybody. I hope that all of you are doing well. This note really doesn't have to do with the chapter that much (not at all really), but I think that you should read it. I want to do these things called "personal updates" where I tell you guys things about what's going on in the world of NaruHinattrq. These won't be like I narrate what has been happening with me, but some things that I would like your guys' advice about. I just want to hear your opinions about things. If you think this is stupid, just tell me in the comments, "NaruHinattrq, I don't give a shit about your life and I just want to read your FanFic." except maybe a bit nicer, or just ignore the following.. if you don't mind, I'll just do one right now: So, there is this one girl that I like (she's asian and doesn't speak a lot of English), and we have an 8th grade dance coming up at our school, and I want to ask her to it. I am trying to think of some sort of creative way to ask her to go with me. If you could drop some ideas for me, I would really appreciate it. Good day everyone!

Chapter 8: The Mission Part 2

The two of them sat on the ground there in the cold, damp cave. Both of them had not dried yet, and were cuddling with each other along the walls, waiting for their clothes to dry off. Hinata was in her underwear, which Naruto was not a fan of. He still wished that he could see his beautiful girlfriends, perfect body again. Just thinking about how Hinata looked made him feel much better about the mission they were on now. He felt as is just the presence of Hinata could lift all the weight of his shoulders, as if it could make all his worries disappear, as if it made him feel like someone who was in control of their own life, he felt like a god.

"Hinata?"

She stirred for a moment before answering. "Yes Naruto? Is there something that you need?"

"Umm... well, I was just wondering if when we got back to the Village, if you would like to move into my apartment with me? It has two bedrooms and is much bigger than the other one I had before. What do you say?"

"Well, I would love to Naruto. But, I don't know if my father will approve of it."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about Hiashi. He can be such a pain sometimes."

"I know. I just really want him to approve of me."

"You already have my approval Hinata. And nothing will ever change that."

"You have my approval too Naruto. And nothing, not even my father, will ever change that."

"I know Hinata. Nothing can ever change how we feel about each other."

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Hinata spoke up, "Naruto, we should probably get going now. We're both dry, and we still have a mission to complete. Plus, we don't know when the assassination is going to take place, so we better stop it before anything else happens." Naruto didn't want to, but is was his duty as a hidden leaf shinobi to carry out missions.

"All right." Hinata could tell that Naruto didn't want to leave her side, sshe felt sorry for letting him down like that. The two walked over to their own individual piles of clothes, Naruto's pile was just a heap of orange and black cloth. While Hinata's was a neatly folded pile of clean clothes. Naruto finished getting dressed before Hinata, and walked over to meet her. She was just putting on her jacket.

"Alright Hinata are you ready?" She zipped up her jacket and turned around to face him.

"Of course. We can go whenever you want."

"Great. But one things first."

"What is it?"

"Jump back." She was surprised for a second, before realizing what he meant. Hinata sprang backwards, the next moment, a kunai stuck out of the ground from where se had just been standing.

"I didn't want to tackle you again. So I gave you a heads up." Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area, just like the first time, she found nothing.

"Naruto. It was like that girl before that we faced. I can't find any chakra signals anywhere. I can't see anyone, and I don't know how many there are." She looked back at Naruto, he had that familiar orange shading around the corner of his eyes.

"I built up chakra for sage mode when we were sitting along the wall. And I know exactly where all nineteen of them are. So, you guys better come out and show yourselves. We can beat all of you, just like we beat that one woman.''

"And we can't forgive you for that lad. We will take vengeance on you and show the Land of Moon the true light."

"You guys are all just crazy. With all this talk about light and stuff, it's absolute nonsense." Naruto and Hinata heard a faint chuckle as about five figures stepped out from all directions. All of them were identical to the one woman that Naruto had beaten before. White masks, this time with a marking on them, and black, ankle length robes.

"Kid, you are the one that is making nonsense. You two brats will die right here and now. I will kill the girl first, she hasn't caused me any trouble. On the other hand, that annoying boy, will die slowly. He is making me waste my time. I have no patience for little idiots like this brat here." They still couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from, but is definitely wasn't from the five that were in front of them. The five figures rushed at the two with kunai in their hand. Naruto immediately summoned around 15 shadow clones, three enemies for him, and two enemies for Hinata. Hinata moved swiftly and efficiently, not ne move was wasted. She easily hit one of the overconfident attackers with her Gentle Fist, to the area around where his heart was. He dropped to the floor, dead.

''Rasengan!" Nauto slammed his ball of chakra into his third, and final, attacker. He pushed the ball forward a little bit, which caused the man, or woman, to fly back into the wall. Luckily for Naruto, the area around that area was a little unstable. The man weakly put up his arm to try to protect himself from the rocks, it did nothing to stop the cascade of boulders that were raining down on him.

"Naruto! Help!" Naruto spun around to see Hinata fighting off someone who, wasn't there.

"Hinata where is he? He's all around me. He is nearly as fast as Guy Sensei at Taijutsu. I can barely block his attacks. He's jst to fast." Just then, Hinata was kicked in the back of her head, she tumbled forward, face first into the ground.

_I can't take this anymore! They just keep going after her. I must protect her, I didn't want to do this but, I have no other choice. I have to activate Tailed Beast mode. These guys are much tougher than I thought._

"Ahhh. It seems that he cares for the girl over there a lot. Well, you know what this means." The next words that came out of his mouth angered Naruto even more, "Kill her." Thirteen more sprang from all directions, aiming at Hinata, who was blocking off this man's attacks, on her back. Her old attacker sprang from above her, aiming right at her. Hinata saw this and rolled onto her stomach, that was her mistake. The man, still in the air, threw a kunai right at the back of her thigh. It sunk in, which caused Hinata to yell in pain. "She's weak now, finish her."

"Like hell you won't!" Naruto was now in Tailed Beast mode, he had his traditonal cloak on, the one that looked like his father's. He radiated orange chakra, it came from evrey pore in his body, it surronded him like a shield. "I swear if you touch her again I'll kill every one of you without mercy!" He extended his arm using his chakra, and slapped all of Hinata's attacker's away, even the extremely fast one.

"Naruto, he slashed my leg tendons, I won't be able to walk.''

"Then I'll just have to carry you out of this place. Hinata, I promise you that I won't let these monsters hurt you again. You have my word."

"This is quite a show you've put on boy. You're actually tougher than I thought, knocking away all fourteen of her attackers, sassing me, and killing of five of my closest friends. Now there are only fifteen of us left. In three days you and your girlfriend over there have killed five of the only people that care about me, and that I care about. You really are quite impressive. But, that talent is going to stop now. This will be your tomb. Now, die kid. I look forward to watching my friends rip you apart.'' As if on que, the fourteen of them sprang at them from above.

"Hinata, we're getting out of here. I'm going to grab you and we'll escape through the roof. Just hold on, got it?"

"I-I understand Naruto." The wound was beginning to make her weak, even Naruto could sense it.

"Just don't talk anymore. You'll make yourself even weaker than your current state." Naruto began forming a ball of chakra in his right palm. His left arm extended out and gently grabbed Hinata. The chakra began to swirl and turn, and Naruto's rare wind chakra began to infuse itself with the rasengan that he already held. The fourteen Yami members progressively got closer and closer to them. But NAruto finished his Wind Rasen Shuriken before they could reach him. He smiled and aimed for a random member, he threw it at right that person. They collided with the ball and flew backward with the infused ball of Chakra. If he wasn't dead when he hit the roof, than the massive explosion of chakra did kill him.

"Hinata, we're going now." Sunlight flooded into the cavern as the smoke started to clear. With the Yami flying at him, Naruto lept toward the hole in the ceiling, while evading the enemies.

"That kid never ceases to amaze me. He is so much stronger than I expected him to be. Well, no matter. We still have the numbers advantage. I just want to wring that kid's neck, he makes me so mad. We'll track him down later. We need to recover our dead. Let's go." He jumped out from the shadows and beckoned for the rest of the Yami to follow him. Everyone now had six marks on their mask.


	9. Chapter 9

Another note from me: Hello everybody. Sorry I have not posting in 8 days. I am on spring break right now, and where I am, I have no access to the internet. I did get the chance to go to a Starbucks today (Where I currently am) so I had access to the internet. I won't be able to post again until Sunday. So please, be patient. I have been working on the next several chapters, so I am pretty happy about that. I hope you enjoy your Spring Break (assuming you have it now) or you had a good Spring Break. Good Day!

Chapter 9: The Chase

"T-Thank you Naruto. For saving me I mean. I never would have been able to make it out in those conditions."

"Kakashi Sensei once told me that those who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash, even Obito said it too. And I am not trash. The villagers used to treat me like I was trash, but I showed them that I wasn't. It is my duty as Naruto Uzumaki to protect and save my friends whenever they are being hurt and killed. You don't need to thank me Hinata. It is my duty to save you. I don't want to be regarded as trash. Besides, we both know each other well enough to know that you would have done the same thing. And you can't argue with that." Hinata was speechless because, well, he was absolutely right. He couldn't argue with him, even if she wanted to. "Hinata, I know what you're thinking. Don't fret too much over it. After all, right now, I'm supposed to be saving you. We just need to find a place to heal you up. The cut does look pretty deep. And it's still bleeding." It was true, the cut was deep and it was causing Hinata a lot of pain.

"Naruto. Just forget about me. I'll only be a burden to you while I'm still like this. You should leave me and complete the mission. I can heal myself, I have some bandages and I know some medical ninjutsu."

"But what if they find you?" Those words hit Hinata hard. "I just told you that I would never leave you behind. You're special to me, I care a lot about you, I don't want to see anything bad happen. But most of all, I love you Hinata. And I will never leave you behind, no matter the circumstances. We will always be together." Hinata couldn't muster an arguement to counter his. She decided that Naruto was just being himseld and decided to let it go.

"Okay Naruto. But you better do me a favor when we get back home. I don't like doing this but I guess we have to."

"I know that this isn't the best idea. In fact, it may actually be one of the worst. I just don't want to lose you. You mean the world to be." Naruto paused for a second and looked around. "Hey Hinata. There's a small cave over there where we can patch you up. Let's go. Those weird Yami guys or whatever probably aren't chasing us just yet."

"Do you really think that those two are okay. I mean, they have been gone for about five days now. Do you think that anything happened?"

"I'm sure that they're fine. But you have a very good point Shizune. They might have gotten into some trouble."

"That's my point Lady Tsunade! They probably need help as soon as possible. We should send some ANBU after them. And maybe Kiba too."

"Fine. Assemble a team of seven ANBU with Kiba and Tenten. Send them out after them. Along with a messanger bird. If they need more help they will be able to call for more. Now go!" Shizune ran out of the office and ran straight for the ANBU headquarters. Just when she was about to get there, she was fortunate enough to see Kiba and Akamaru just walking around.

"Hey! KIba! I need to talk to you!" KIba immediately looked in the direction of Shizune.

"What? Am I getting a misison right now?"

"Well, yes you are. But I need you to find Tenten first. Then report to Tsunade's office."

"Okay. I can do that." He patted the side of his leg. "Come on Akamaru! We have someone we have to find." Akamaru gave Kiba a happy bark and started to run after him.

"And that should do it. Okay Hinata, just don't move for a while. Let it rest for a little bit. But promise me one thing." Hinata raised her head to look at Naruto, who was no longer in Tailed-Beast mode.

"Sure what is it?"

"Try not to use any medical ninjutsu on that wound. If we do get into a fight we would need to perserve as much chakra as possible for it. You should still be able to move around freely, plus you already healed all the muscles and tendons in that area." Hinta just nodded her head, showing that she understood. "Okay good. Now I need to rest a little bit. I sure got tired after using so much energy fighting all those guys. You should get some rest too."

"No Naruto. I'm fine. I feel perfectly okay. If you want to go sleep you can. I'll keep watch and wake you up if anybody comes. You desrve some sleep. You have been working really hard lately the past few days."

"Really? Thanks Hinata. This is why you are the best girlfriend ever. I don't know what I could do without you." And with that, Naruto fel asleep with his head on Hinata's lap.

"So Tsunade, what did you call us for? And why are these ANBU guys with us?" KIba looked around again. He had Akamaru on his right, and Tenten on his left. Surronding them were seven menacing looking ANBU black ops.

"Well Kiba, if you really want to know, I would be more than happy to tell you." Tsunade looked around at all nine shinobi before her. "Kiba and Tenten, you two are being given a B-Rank mission. These seven ANBU are going to accompany you two along this mission."

"Well then, what could be so dangerous about a B-Rank mission? I mean, it can't be this dangerous, right?"

"Well Kiba. Actually I don't know what could be so dangerous. Have you eve heard of a band of shinobi named "Yami"?"

"I have Lady Tsunade!" Kiba looked over to see Tenten blabbering her mouth off. "They are a group of five extermely dangerous ninja. These are the only permanent members, but what they do is they recruit other rogue ninja, making it seem like they have a lot of powerful members, when in reality, the only dangerous ones are the five main members."

"Correct Tenten. These five are extremely dangerous. They are notorious for their amount of assasination attempts on feudal lords from small lands. They never actually take power to themselves, they usually give it to somone more promising who looks like a good ruler."

"Sorry Tsunade, but what powers do the alleged five possess? They do sound pretty powerful."

"Well Kiba. For starters, they do not back anyone, and we do not know their names or exact mmotives, but we do now their powers. The first one uses an extremely fast and powerful Taijutsu, very similar to Guy's or even Lee's. The second one has a kekkei geinkai, it is an ice style type of jutsu. The third one is kind of like Obito in some sort of sense. This one can matierialize himself down to the milecular level and move about freely in all kinds of sufaces. All he needs to do is make contact with it. The fourth one is a complete master of genjutsu. We don't know exactley how t works. but we do know that no one was ever able to tell us. The fifth one, is trouble. We actually don't know any of his jutsu. But this one is the obvious leader of the group, he also does all the talking. Be wary of them."

"Okay, well that was helpful. But what does this have to do with our mission?"

"All of you are going after Naruto and Hinata. These two were hunting down the Yami, who were trying to kill the Feudal Lord of the Land of Moon. But we are afraid that they ran into trouble. That's what they have to do with your mission. And that is exactly why you will have seven ANBU join you. Your mission will to be to find and kill any Yami members that you see, and to bring Naruto and Hinata back. Any other questions?" No one asked anything, they all remained standing. "Good. You all leave in two hours. Pack your things and meet up with everyone there. Good luck." Kiba walked out of the office.

_Damn that Naruto! I now have to take on these guys. If you can't beat them, then how are we supposed to be able to do it? This makes me so frustrated. I can't believe that he would actually need backup. _Kiba grunted and continued to walk with Akamaru. "Well Akamaru, looks like NAruto needs our help, huh? Well do you remember his scent?" Akamaru gave him a happy bark and continued walking. "Well we should go back up right Akamaru?"

Naruto woke up to find a sleeping Hinata above him. He thought that she looked so calm and collected when she was sleeping.

"Well well well. Looks like we're in this situation again aren't we?" NAruto whipped around to find Kiba, Tenten and, seven ANBU? NAruto wondered what was going on. "Thank god that those Yami creeps didn't get you. We ran all yesterday and night to find you guys."

"Come on Kiba. Why are you really here? Hinata and I were doing fine until you guys showed up." Naruto gave Hinata a gentle shake, which caused her to wake. "Hey Hinata. Kiba, Tenten and some ANBU are here to help us get back to Leaf Village."

"My my. Whoever said that all of you are going back to that petty village of yours?"


	10. Chapter 10

Hello all, I am just here to tell you a thing or two. First of all, Happy Easter. Second, I will be able to go back to a normal upload schedule again. I have returned from my vacation and I finally have constant internet now. I will be uploading a new chapter every 3-5 days like I originally promised. Thanks everyone for waiting. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Rescue attempt

The voice seemed to come from nowhere, but also everywhere at the same time. It confused everyone, and everyone was on alert.

"Just who exactly are you and what exactly are you trying to do? Do you think that this is some sort of game that you're playing? Come out and show your true self!" This guy had barely been talking to them but he had already upset Naruto a lot.

"Just what are you asking for child? Are you asking me to send you to your death? This is my true form. I'm just so small that I seem overpowering to you. I can kill you right now if I wish. But my boss wants to do it personally."

''You coward! You can't really comw out here because you're too afraid to face all of us at once! I don't know who or what you are, but I am going to find you and stop you myself! You're just a coward."

"I am not the coward here child!" A human torso appeared from the celing and stopped right in front of Naruto's face. "You are the true coward here llittle boy." NAruto was so surprised, he seemed to forget how to attack. The man's hand swung around an backhanded him across the face. Naruto fell to the ground with a huge thud and looked up at the area where his attacker used to be. The torso had dissappeared as soon as it had appeared.

"So is this how we're going to play it?"

"Why yes indeed child. This is how we're going to play this nice little game of ours." The man rose from in front of Naruto and slapped him again, this time much harder. Then dissappeared again. "This is always the best part when they try to squirm away and try to defeat me. This is my favorite game. And of course, I never lose at my own game." The man continued to appear and dissappear, while still slaping Naruto. He seemed to be able to move wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

"Enough of this, you bastard! I'm going to kill you right now." NAruto suddenly exploded in a ball of orange energy. _He's transforming into Tailed-Beast mode. This guys really does make Naruto that mad. _HInata watched as the orange died down, then gazed at Naruto, who seemed to be radiating energy. "Wha-. What is this? I have never seen anything like this before." NAruto seemed to take it all in at once.

"Come on NAruto what is it? We need to know so we can fight him!" Kiba's cries could barely even reach NAruto, he was to stunned to even speak.

"This guy, his hatred. It's all over the place. It's all over the walls, it's beneath us, it's above us. I can sense his hatred, everywhere. You guys all need to get out now, it's to dangerous to be in here. Grab Hinata and go! You all have no time!" One ANBU wasted no time grabbing Hinata by the waist and pulling her out of the cave.

"You two, come on we need to get out. This is the guy that Tsunade was talking about, the one that breaks himself down to a molecular level and moves about everywhere. We can't stay here, this terrain gives him the advantage." The ANBU that was carrying Hinata ran out of the cave, along with five other ANBU and Kiba and Tenten. The last one used an Earth Style jutsu and dissppeared underground.

"Where do you think you are going little boy? Our game isn't over yet. And long as you still stand there, we still have a game to finish. And this is a game where I make up all the rules."

"That is where you are wrong. Even if you make up the rules, I am still going to win this game. I'm going to break all of your stupid rules, that's the way that I am going to play this game." Naruto began to form the rasengan in his hand, before adding the wind chakra to it.

"Foolish boy. HAve you learned nothing? There is no way that you can win this game. Give up, and suffer much less pain." The Wind Rasen Shuriken was now complete, and NAruto was ready to throw it. "You think one jutsu will be able to stop me? You are still so ignorant child. I have never lost my own game."

"Then this will be your first, last, and only game that you will ever lose. I don't like playing around with games that much, but this is an exection. To kick your ass!" NAruto threw the Wind Rasen Shuriken at the ground, then sprung back to avoid the blast radius. "NAruto Uzumaki, undefeated!"

"You brat! I didn't think that you were that smart! I'm still going to kill you. I hope you realize that." NAruto smirked and landed in front of his comrades, who were staring at the remains of what used to be the cave.

"How did you come up with a solution that quickly? I never thought that you would use that jutsu in order to destroy the atoms that made up the area in that cave. Plus, that explosion was huge. It should have been able to destroy all the cells that he blended with those atoms." One of the ANBU said.

"Yeah, that was my plan. I thought that maybe I could destroy some of the molecules that were in that area. And maybe I would get some of his while I was at it. That was the purpose of my attack. But I wouldn't say that he was done yet. He may still be alive."

Then Tenten spoke, "Well I honestly didn't expect you to be able to come up with a strategy like that so quickly. Well done, I applaud you."

"Hinata, are you able to walk? I think that this ANBU guy can put you down now."

"Yeah. I can walk. My legs are healed now." She turned her head to face the ANBU. "Sir, you can put me down now, I can manage on my own."

"Yes, Lady Hinata." Hinata was placed down on solid ground, then walked over to Naruto. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. NAruto did the same.

''Hinata, I need you to let go for a second."

"W-Why Naruto?"

"You just have to trust me on this one." She let go and so did he. "I can sense the hatred of our attacker. And he is actually quite close to us now." He turned around. The man appeared from the ground, slowly rising. But he only got to his midsection before he stopped moving. Ironically, the man started to clap.

"Well done brat. This is the most fun that anyone's ever given me in my own game. You were truly the best that I have ever faced. Sadly though, your luck ends right here and now. I'm going to kill you, and all your friends over there to. Those who are ignorant and foolish die quickly in this world."

"You're wrong again. I am not simply playing this game by myself, I have a team with me. And teams will always defeat those who act alone. You are truly the ignorant one. And that is why we beat you at your own game. Your winning streak is going to end with the next turn. We'll go first."

"Idiot. You still won't be able to beat me. Regardless if I had a team or not, I'm still going to kill all of you. Now it is my turn. Not yours you ignorant br-" He never finished the rest of his sentence.

"I told you that it was our turn." The end of the sword stuck straight out between the eyeholes of his white Yami mask, which now had seven symbols on it. The ANBU who held the hilt of his sword rose out of the ground. He swiftly pulled out the bloody blade that had been stuck inside the man's head. Naruto smiled and deactivated Tailed Beast mode.

The man that had just been killed had suddenly started to fall apart. Little bits and pieces from his body just dissappeared. _The cells are giving way and are started to go into the ground. This man was smart. He was not giving out any secrets after his death. _The mask fell to the ground with a soft clunk. The ANBU picked it up and examined it.

"We should keep this. And the robe too. Remember not to leave any trace that we were here." The other ANBU came and walked over to help their comrade. "You guys should go back to the village. We'll clean up here and meet you there soon. We'll deal with any Yami members that happen to come here. It shouldn't be much of a problem."

Naruto and the others nodded and began to run in the direction of the Leaf Village.

"Geez Naruto. That guy sure looked tough to beat."

"Not really Kiba. He almost seemed to want to tell everyone about his amazing ability. He was too overconfident and acted carelessly. And he only used that one strategy that whole time we fought him. You guys could have beat him easily too."

"I have a question for both of you. Naruto and Hinata I mean." Naruto looked back at Tenten. He thought that is was odd that she was asking that.

"Sure, why not."

"Are you guys really dating? Or is it just a rumor?'' HInata began to blush really bad. Naruto was just, well, annoyed.

Naruto let Hinata answer, "Yes. We are." Kiba, Tenten, and Akamaru put on the same face that they had on at the end of their previous mission.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello all. As promised, this one came out three days after the last chapter. I hope that I can keep it this way for a while, but you never know. Something completely unorthodox might happen to me.

Personal Update: I'm bored. I feel like I need some new anime to watch. If you could recommend some to me, I would really appreciate it. If you do, please try to make it similar to Sword Art Online, Angel Beats, or Infinite Stratos. I just kind of want one that is mainly a manga type with a little bit of romance and plays with my emotions a little bit. Thanks if you recommend an anime. Good Day!

Chapter 11: The Night

"Come on. You guys really don't have to look so surprised. We've been traveling back to The Leaf Village for hours. Just because Hinat and I are dating doesn't mean that it's totally groundbreaking news. It really can't be that shocking. Honestly it can't really be that shocking. Can it?"

"Don't pay attention to them Naruto. They're just jealous of you. They want to be like you, all of us want to be like you, remember?" That took Naruto's mind off things, and instead put a smile on his face.

"We're sorry about that Naruto. We didn't mean to be acting like this for so long. We were just, how do I put this? A little bit surprised at how things turned out. I mena, I thought that you liked Sakura instead of Hinata."

Before Naruto could retort, Kiba spoke up, "You can speak for yourself Tenten. I was totally surprised that Naruto could actually pull something like this off. I never expected that Naruto and Hinata would be together. And I would never have thought that Naruto would actually get a girlfriend. But it looks like he lucked out this time. I wonder if he'll be able to do it next time?"

"Kiba, shut up. There will not be a next time. You know why? Because Hinata and I love each other. And there will never be something that can split us up. And your stupid opinions about us really don't matter either. So just be quiet please. We're almost back to Leaf Village. It's already nearly midnight, and I'm pretty sure that no one here wants to deal with each other's shit. Am I right?" Hinata and Tenten nodded. Kiba just sighed and grunted and, thankfully, kept quiet.

"I can barely see at all. The moon isn't even giving off light. Can you transform to Tailed-Beast mode Naruto? I can barely see at all, and I don't want to make a false move and slam into a tree or something."

"Sure Tenten. It couldn't hurt to use some light." Naruto closed his eyes for a second, the next second he was a giant becon of orange light. He was illuminating everything around them, they could see everything. No one spoke untill they got to the main gates of the Leaf Village.

"We should give our report to Tsunade tomorrow. She's probably sleeping right now along with everyone else in the village. What do you guys think?" Hinata, Tenten, and Naruto nodded their heads in agreement. "Great. I'll see all of you guys tomorrow then. Good Night!" And with that, Kiba and Akamaru walked away into the darkness of the town.

"Well. I guys that I'll be going too. Bye!" Tenten walked away after saying that. Only Naruto and Hinata stood by the front gates of the Village.

"HInata, I was just wondering about something. Could you give me your opinion?" Hinata looked at him with a smile. She already knew what he was going to ask.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to spend the night in my apartment with me? Hiashi would never know and I don't think there are any other problems with it. What do you think?" He stood there looking at her nervously. Hinata expected him to ask her this before, in fact she fantasized about this moment right here.

"Sure, I would love too. But there is one thing that I want to do first. Would you be okay with visiting Neji's grave for a little bit? With me?" Naruto didn't know how to respond. This was all so sudden to him. It took him a moment to come up with a response.

"Yes. I will go with you."

"Great. I really need to go with you for this. I just need someone with me."

"Of course. I will always want to be by your side." He reached over and took her hand into his own. The two set off in the direction of the cemetery, where Neji lie in wait for them. After several minutes of silence, the two finally stepped through the gates of the cemetery. They began to walk in the direction of the special segment for those who had died in the Fourth Great Shinobi war.

They found Neji's grave. It was in the 20th collum, and on the 8th row. Hinata let go of Naruto's hand, and used that one to clutch her other one, which was then placed over the middle of her chest, like she usually did. The wind was windless. There were no sounds, no howls, no chirps, no owls, no nothing. The sky was as black as charcoal. No clouds were floating around above their heads. The moon was not shining. Just the feel of the night made Naruto sad. He never knew Neji very well, but now, the feel of everything, he felt closer to Neji than ever before. He couls barely hold back his tears, this was the man who had let Hinata be with him. Hinata was also struggling to hold back her tears, but was failing. Little droplets streamed down her face. The were slow at first, but began to speed up.

_This is really affecting her. I should go and comfort her. It would make us both feel better. _Naruto moved toward Hinata a little bit, then wrapped his right arm around her. She looked up at him. He was giving her a fake smile.

"Just let your tears go. Let them out. You deserve to be crying right now, you earned it. You have been being strong for too long, this isn't a sign of weakness. No matter what you think, crying is not a sign of weakness. I don't want you to think that. You don't have to say anything while you cry. I won't tell anyone. You have my word. I am feeling the impact of the loss of Neji too. You're not the only one. We've both been strong for too long." He used his left arm to reach around her head. He placed his hand on the back of his head, and gently pulled her into his chest. "Just cry Hinata. Please, just let it out.'' And she did. She sobbed into Naruto's jacket. Making it wet whenever a tear landed.

"Oh, Naruto. You didn't have to come here with me. I forced you into doing this."

"No Hinata. You didn't force me to come. I came here not because you forced me to, but because I wanted to help you. Just like I wnat you to help me. Just let all your tears flow. Show Neji that you really cared about him. I'm sure that he would want you to." A single tear flowed from the corner of Naruto's eye. It streamed down his cheek and off his chin. That single tear was all it took for Hinata to begin to feel better. That single tear landed on Hinata's head. That was all it took for Hinata to let more tears flow. She now knew that Naruto cared, not about Neji, but that he cared for her. A lot.

Hiashi stood a good distance away from the couple. He stood, with a smile on his face and a good feeling in his heart. He was watching his daughter, and for the first time, her boyfriend cry with each other. The Byakugan was not being used as a weapon for him this time, but as a portal to his personal happiness. _I was wrong about him. I used to think he was only a freak with a monster inside of him. But now, seeing my beautiful daughter with this young man, I finally realize my mistake. He is an extradinary young man who cares about my daughter this much. I bet that he would be an excellent son of mine. He could fill that void that was always empty, in my heart and hers. I want no better man to take my daughter's hand in marriage. Please do well, Naruto Uzumaki. _He still stood there, watching the two. Realizing that Naruto was actually a kind young man with a strong loving heart. Then, the first tear rolled down Hiashi's face. Followed by another, and another, and another. Pretty soon Hiashi had a waterfall of joy flowing from his eyes, all the way down his face, over his robes, and finally, splashing on the ground.

"Hinata. This is a good man for you. I hope that he makes you happy." Hiashi then jumped away, as silent as the night was.

"Hinata. There's something that I want you to know, right now." He lifted his head a little bit, so he could look down at her. She lifted her head up also, her eyes were red from all the crying that she had been doing.

"W-What is it N-NAruto?" She sniffled after every word. Naruto could sense extreme sadness coming from her.

"Your father was just here."

"W-What! What d-do you mean N-Naruto?" Again, more sniffling.

"I could sense an extraordinary amount of joy. I could sense his emotions ever since we got here. I sensed his sadness at this spot when we came in. I can only assume that he had been watching us ever since we got here. I can still sense him, he is incredibly happy. He had a major mood change ever since you started crying."

"T-Then, this is a-a good thing?" This time, there were almost no sniffles.

"Of course Hinata. This almost has to mean that your father approves of us being together. Just don't tell him about. This is going to be our little secret. Okay?"

"Of course. I like this little secret." She had stopped crying, and had replaced it with a smile. Naruto also had a smile too.

"Come on, we should get going back to my apartment. It is nearly past midnight and you must me tired. I know that I am. Maybe you can take a bath when we get there. You should say good bye to Neji."

Hinata turned to face Neji's headstone. "Good bye Neji. I'll be back soon. That is my promise to you." She faced Naruto, and gave him a smile. He took her hand and tuged her along. Neither of them looked back. That was when the moon started to give off a faint light.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Night at Naruto's

"Hinata! Is the bath warm enough yet?" The two had trudged the tired, and heavy bodies all the way through the Village. The had finally arrived at Naruto's apartment, which was obviously much larger and much more luxurious than his previous on. Hinata had thought that it was amazing when she first saw it.

"Don't worry Naruto. The water is perfectly fine." She stood naked, ready to get into the nice warm bath that stood before her, almost teasing her.

"What? I can't hear you at all. The running water is too loud. Can I come in to talk to you?" She thought that she had heard a bit of playfulness in his voice, but she wasn't able to tell. The door knob began the creak a little bit. "I'm going to come in right now. I want to talk to you."

"No! Wait please just wait outside. I'll meet you there in a second." Her voice was barely audible, even she could barely hear it. She never liked to yell. The door knob stopped creaking, and Hinata rushed around to find a towel. She found one hanging on a rack and wrapped it around her body. She turned around so that she could turn off the water. "Naruto! I'm going to come out now. Just please wait a second!" She walked toward the door and reached for the door knob. She gently wrapped her open hand around it, and turned it to the right. She took a deep breath and pushed. Naruto wasn't standing before her.

"BOO!" Naruto had actually been hiding along the wall, waiting for Hinata to come out. Hinata panicked for a second and let go of the towel that she had been holding. It dropped to the ground with a soft thud. Hinata stood there, completely naked, right in front of Naruto. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't intend for that to happen. That part was a total accident." Hinata could tell that he was telling the truth.

"Don't worry. It's perfectly okay Naruto." She turned around so that she could allow Naruto to her breasts. "Just don't expect to see this sight very often. Next time, you will have to earn it." She reached down so that she could pick up her towel. She grabbed it and stood up straight. But she didn't wrap the towel around her body, unlike the last time. "So, what did you want to talk with me about?" Naruto was still staring, his face as red as a tomato. He didn't say anything for a moment or two.

"Sorry. I just wanted to ask you if everything was going okay. It sounded like you figured it out." He was still blushing, really bad. It could compete with one of Hinata's blushes.

"Yeah. I figured everything out just fine. Is there anything else that you want to ask me?" She said it in a teasing kind of tone.

"No. I just wanted to see if everything was going okay for you. Which, I'm guessing, it is." His blush still refused to go away.

"Well, I appreciate your concern for me. But I'm going to go take my bath now. I should be out in about, 20-30 minutes. You should stay out here and wait for me. There's still something that I want to ask you." She gave him a flirty wink and walked back into the bathroom. After a moment, Naruto heard a very faint plop. He assumed that Hinata had gotten in. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Well, I guess that I had better wait for a little bit. There's nothing like some pork ramen to pass the time." His mind was made up, he would eat his ramen while he waited for Hinata to finish. He grabbed one of his easy make cups of ramen from the pantry, and heated up some water on the stove top. After a few minutes, Naruto put his ramen into the water.

After several more minutes, he had finished making the beloved ramen noodles that he loved so. Naruto wasted no time to eat them. He started vigourosly slurping and sucking them into his mouth like a vacuum. He was about halfway through when he heard the drain start to down all the water. He started to eat a little more carefully and civilized, but at a much slower pace. He seemed to wait an eternity to finish his ramen. Sadly, Hinata did not come out while he was still eating.

_Damn! What the hell takes girls so long to finish bathing and getting dressed. I'm pretty sure that no man ever will understand this. Shikamaru might, but I could be wrong. What the hell do they do in the bathroom? It's already been like, a long time since Hinata went back in. This really sucks, I really want to see her soon. _Just then, Hinata walked out of the bathroom with her neatly folded clothes under her arm. She was only in the plain white shirt that she always wore, along with some lavender colored underwear. NAruto thought that she looked beautiful, except in an odd way.

''Finally. That sure took you a while. I'm just glad that you came out alive from that place." HInata managed a slight giggle and a smile.

"Hey Naruto. Where can I put these down?" She lifted the clothes that she had been holding.

"It really doesn't matter that much. Just put them anywhere that you won't forget them. Hiashi would kill me if he found your clothes in my apartment. Regardless of what he thought about us back there." Another giggle slipped through Hinata's lips. "By the way, i have two things to ask you." She placed her clothes on his couch, and then looked at him.

"Okay fire away. I'm ready for any question that you could throw at me." She gave him a devious-looking smile and then sat on the couch. NAruto smiled and walked out of his small kitchen. He took his place next to Hinata and wrapped his arm around her.

"Okay my first question is this, why do girls always have to take so long in the bathroom? It confuses the hell out of me." Hinata tried not to laugh, and surprisingly succeeded. She thought that Naruto was just being oblivious and goofy.

"Well Naruto, this is an easy, but difficult question to give a clear answer. I know that may sound confusing, but I'm sure that you'll understand it. To answer you, even I don't really know the answer to that question. It is really hard to give one, clear answer to that because there are so many different opinions on it. But, if I was to chose one, it would be that girls want to look nice and presentable for boys. We fret at almost every little imperfection, and we just want to get rid of it. It does get kind of annoying sometimes, but it's just what girls do. I know that may sound a bit odd, but it is mostly true." Naruto looked absolutely dumbfounded. (Don't trust me on this one. I really don't know. This is just my best guess.)

"Oh. Well, the more I think about it, the more it actually does make a lot of sense."

"Okay Naruto, hit me with your second question. I'm ready to tackle it."

"Your're to nice to tackle anything. But, my second question is, what was it that you were going to ask me before you went to take your bath?"

"Oh. I had almost forgotten about that. Thank you for reminding me. Well, I just wanted to know if you wanted to sleep together, as in, we both go to sleep in the same bed? What do you think?" She was doing the thing were she tapped her two index fingers together.

Naruto thought about it for a second before giving his answer, "Honestly. I was going to ask you the same question. I would absolutely love to sleep with you." He then realized his mistake, which got a giggle out of Hinata. "That was 100% honestly not the way that I wanted it to come out. But, well, you know what I mean, right?" Hinata was almost on the verge of cracking up.

"Yeah I know exactly what you mean. But this part is going to be another one of our little secrets, okay?" Hinata schooched a little bit closer to Naruto. "So are we on the couch tonight, or the bed."

"Whatever you want. Either one is perfectly okay with me." He smiled at her, and she returned it.

"We're going to stay on the couch. I just have to move my clothes first." She turned around, and relocated her clothes to the coffee table. She leaned back and faced Naruto. She playfully pushed him over so the he extended his full height along the couch. She moved so that her back was along the back of the couch. She rested her head on Naruto's chest, and snugged up so that she was comfortable.

"I'm going to turn of the light now. Good night Hinata, I love you."

"I love you too Naruto." The next moment, the two of them were plunged into almost complete darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

Good Morning (or afternoon depending on when you see this) everyone. Sorry, I lost track of the days and am posting this a little bit late. So, I am running out of ideas for chapters. I only have four more chapters on hold after this one, and I am having trouble thinking of ideas for the next few chapters. Because of this, I might end up going way short of my 60,000 word goal. So, I may only end up having around maybe ten-ish more chapters. Suggest some ideas to me. Thanks Everyone. Good Day!

Chapter 13: The Morning

Naruto woke up to find Hinata still sleeping on his chest. He wanted to let her go, but he also wanted Hinata to remain asleep on him. Naruto lay there for a moment, having a conflict with himself. He wanted to keep sleeping with Hinata, but he also wanted to do something nice for her, like make breakfast. He looked at the clock, it read 7:14. Begrudgingly, Naruto gently moved Hinata from on top of him. He shimmied out from underneath her, and stood up on the carpet. Luckily for him, Hinata was still sound asleep on his couch. _I had almost thought that she had really woken up there. Good thing she didn't. That would have ruined the surprise that I had planned for her. _Naruto smiled and turned around, he walked into the kitchen and began to get his surprise ready for her.

_What is that smell? It smells really good. What's going on? What did Naruto mess up this time? I guess that I should go and see what it is. I hope that he didn't do anything too bad. _HInata opened her eyes and sat up. She stretched herself out and gave a long yawn. She looked around. Naruto wasn't with her, it was nearly 10 o'clock, and there was an amazing smell that was still wafting through the air. Hinata sniffed a little bit before realizing the source of the sound, the small dining room. She stood up and stretched again before walking toward the source of the smell.

"Good morning Hinata! Glad to see that you're still alive." Naruto was sitting at the table, but that didn't register to Hinata much. The only thing that she registered from that moment was that there was a giant platter of breakfast in front of her. Several pancakes stacked up, one on top of the other. Bowls of various fruits, strawberrys, blueberries, and oranges all stood in bowls before her. "Hey Hinata! Wake up a little bit."

"Oh. S-Sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. It doesn't matter that much."

"Did you make all this? Just for me?"

"You bet I did. I would make you breakfast every morning if I could." Hinata looked at all the food once again, she knew that Naruto meant what he said.

''Oh Naruto. This is so much food. I couldn't eat it all by myself."

"I know that you can't. That's why we're going to share all this food. Together, just you and me." Hinata sat down at the other end of the table. The two were within arm's reach, but a wall of food separated them. "Hinata, just eat however much that you want. I will be able to eat the rest." Hinata just grabbed a plate and piled four pancakes on top of it. She also grabbed a few berries to go with it. Naruto just stared at her in amazement.

"I'm a teenager too Naruto. I also have a big apatite and the need to eat. I can down all this Naruto. Don't worry."

"I bet that I will be able to eat more than you."

"Oh really, is that so?"

"Yep. I will eat more of this delicious breakfast than you. Just you watch Hinata! I won't lose. I never go back on my word. That's my Ninja Way!"

"Should we have a contest? I won't lose to you if we do. That is a promise that I am willing to keep. That is my Ninja Way!" HInata was just playing around with Naruto. She never expected Naruto to take it this seriously. But she decided to play along.

"Of course we're going to have a contest! And I am going to win! You just watch!" He took his plate and stacked five pancakes on to it. Hinata smiled and stacked another pancake onto her pile, making it even. Naruto took another pancake, as did Hinata. They both continued to stack pancakes on their plates until they both had about fifteen, each. They had a little stare down for a second, until they both started to wolf down all the food.

When they finished, Hinata spoke, "Are you ready for another round Naruto? I'm still going to beat you. I hope you now that."

"Other way Hinata. You are going to lose." The did the same thing as with the pancakes, except with the strawberries. The strawberries were eaten much faster than the pancakes. They had another little stare down, then they started to grab the blueberries one by one. They each had 30 on their own plate. But there was still one blueberry left in the bowl.

"How are we going to settle this Naruto? I think that you should let me have it. After all, it is a gentleman's job to let the lady go first."

''No way! I am going to eat all these berries. I am not going to lose this food battle to you!" That comment made Hinata feel silly. Hinata started giggling uncontrollably, she thought he was acting so immature. Then those giggles transformed into a a small amount of laughter, which Naruto joined in too.

They continued for several minutes until Naruto realized something. "Well, shit. Old Lady Tsunade is going to be so pissed at us unless we report to her soon. I do not want to see her bad side."

"W-Wait. I still have to get some clean clothes from my house."

"I thought you would say that, so I did some laundry this morning. Your clothes are laid out on the bed in the second bedroom." Hinata was speechless, she thought that he had been cooking and sleeping all morning, she had no idea that he had actually washed her clothes for her.

"Well, ummm... Thank you Naruto. I really appreciate it."

"It doesn't matter much. Anything for the best girlfriend in the world." He walked over and wrapped her in a huge hug. "I'd do anything for you Hinata. And you know that." He placed his face on the side of her neck. "But let me take a quick shower first. I think I really need one." HInata thought so too, she just didn't tell him that.

"I'm going to change right now. I'll wait for you here. I'll check in with my father later."

"Okay. Just don't leave without me, okay? I don't want to be alone on the long walk to Tsunade's office." He was just messing around now. HInata gently removed his arms and went to go change. Naruto walked into the other bedroom and got his clothes, then proceeded to walk to the bathroom and begin his shower.

The running water was still going as Hinata waited patiently on his couch. Then, Hinata heard a knock at the door.

"Please, hold on a second. I'll be right there!" She stood up and walked to the door. She pulled it open to find Kiba, Akamaru, and Tenten, along with an ANBU member standing right in front of her face. "Hi guys, what are you doing here?"

Kiba gave a suspicious grin and looked at her, "The real question that should be being asked right now is, just what are _you_ doing here Hinata?" HInata blushed and stood speechless for a second.

"Oh shut up Kiba. We already know what she's doing here." Tenten was smiling too.

"No no no. Y-You guys have it way wrong. I wasn't - we weren't doing anything like that, I swear."

"All of you, please be quiet. We were sent here to retrieve Lady Hinata and Naruto. You can talk about, this stuff later. Focus." The ANBU stood firm and looked down on the three. "Do you mind if we wait inside? It still sounds like Naruto is in the shower."

"U-Uh, okay." She stepped aside and let the three shinobi in along with Akamaru. They all took a seat on the couch and waited for Naruto.

Minutes later, the water stopped and then, Naruto, who was just wearing a towel, stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hey Hinata." He then looked around at the company he had. "Why the hell are they in here?" He then spoke to himself, "I'm nearly naked and I've got my comrades staring at me."

Kiba saw his opportunity, and took it, "Hey Naruto! I hear you had Hinata were both here last night, and I see that you're getting ready for round two?" The ANBU sighed and slapped Kiba, firmly, across the face.

"I told you less than five minutes ago to shut up about that. That isn't why we're here." He looked at Naruto, "Just hurry up and change. Lady Tsunade requests to see all of us."

"Okay fine. Just give me a minute, I'll be done soon." He turned away and walked back into the bathroom.

"Hinata, you're blushing again." Tenten began to tease her.

"N-No I'm not Tenten." She blushed even harder, which made Kiba and Tenten laugh, and the ANBU chuckled a bit.

Moments later, Naruto walked out of the bathroom fully dressed. Everyone stood up.

"All right, let's get this over with. I don't want to be stuck in there too long with Tsunade." Everyone nodded and Akamaru give a bark to show that he agreed. Naruto smiled and walked out of the front door.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello once again audience (see what I did there?), ttrq here again with some stuff that may or may not be important to you, although it is important to me. I would just like to remind all of you that I really would like some reviews. I really appreciate seeing them and they make me warm and fuzzy on the inside whenever I see that I got a review. So please, write a review. I know that I have about 33 people that are following this story, and it would make me happy to see 33 reviews. You don't have to write one (lol you should), but I would greatly appreciate it if you would take some time of your day to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And on a lesser note, the chapters are going to get longer from here on out, you just be aware of that. Mostly likely from around 2000-2700 words, but like I said it might be more. Good bye, for now.

Chapter 14: Everyone

"Well, it's about time you four got here. I've been waiting to hear your mission report."

"Well, there isn't much to report really." Naruto started rubbing the back of his head the way he does when he's nervous.

"Well then, tell me what you know. I will see if it matches up with the Intel that the ANBU gave us. There was some pretty interesting stuff that I saw." Then Naruto told her about what happened, excluding the part about the waterfall.

"And, that's really about it. There is nothing else to tell you about the mission." Naruto was about to turn around and leave, but Tsunade stopped him.

"There's still some stuff that I need to tell you Naruto. Just you alone. Everybody else can leave if they wish." Kiba and Tenten looked relieved. They turned around and walked out the door, shutting it behind them. Hinata stayed by Naruto's side, and the ANBU still focused on Tsunade. "Well, I suppose that I better have the ANBU tell you the rest."

"Yes ma'am." He turned and faced Naruto, then pulled a scroll out of his pocket. "About twenty or so minutes after you left, the rest of the Yami attacked us. There are only three significant things that happened. One, we were able to take out the Yami member that possessed the Ice Kekkei Genkai, so there are only three core members left. The second, we discovered that for every Yami member that is killed, a symbol will appear on the masks that they wear." He pulled out the masked and showed Naruto and Hinata. "There fifteen symmbols on this mask, that means that three core memers and two rogue ninja members remain. The final, all of the other ANBU were killed, I am the only survivor. The leader gave me this scroll." He shook that one that he was holding. "He told me to give this to you, he said that only the chakra of the Kyuubi would be able to open it. So far, we have not been able to open it, that is your job now." He handed the scroll over to Naruto. "That is all. I must be going now." He disappeared. The two looked over at Tsunade.

"You two can go, I wouldn't say that you failed or completed that mission. We will decide that in the future. Good bye." Naruto and Hinata said their good-byes and left Tsunade's office building.

"That went much better than I thought it would." Naruto's stomach decided to sing the song of its people right then. "Wow, I sure am hungrier than I thought. We should go get some food. Where do you want to go?"

Hinata thought about it for a second, it was so unlike Naruto to ask anyone where they wanted to eat. "It doesn't matter to me really. We can go anywhere you like."

"All right it's decided then!" HInata thought she knew what he was about to say. "I'm going to go back to the apartment and make us lunch!" Hinata was avout to faint, she was so surprised. But luckily, she didn't. "Come on, I'll make us something there." He grabbed her hand and walked alongside her, guiding her towards his apartment.

As they walked, they were noticing some pretty big changes around the Leaf Village. "Hey Naruto, have you ever noticed that there are so many more foreign shinobi around here now?" It was true, all kinds of foreign shinobi were traveling to and from other villages, the Leaf was a favorite among the shinobi. There seemed to be one foreign shinobi for every Leaf shinobi in the Village.

"Yeah, I really have. I think it's great how all the villages are at peace with each other. And because of that, we are getting all of these new shinobi that are coming to visit the other villages. I really want to go visit the other villages too. Wouldn't you like to do that Hinata?"

"Yeah. It would be great to travel to the other villages. I think that I would like the Hidden Cloud the most. It seems to be the most appealing to me."

"I don't really know. I really seem to like the sound of the Hidden Sand. Plus, that's where Gaara is, as the kazekage I mean."

Then a very familiar voice boomed from behind them, "So I see that you were just talking about me Naruto? And the Hidden Sand also?" Naruto turned around and smiled, Gaara was walking toward him.

"Would you speak of the devil? Hey there Gaara! Long time no see. How's all the kazekage Hidden Sand stuff treating you? It sure has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, indeed. The Village kazekage stuff is going fine. There's much less work now that all the Villages are at peace, and no more Akatsuki stuff to deal with either."`

"Well, that's good. So, what brings you to the Leaf Village anyway? Is it weird kage stuff?"

''No. I just decided that I needed to get out of the desert for a while. I wanted to travel a little bit, and my search led me here to the Leaf. I have already been to the other Hidden Villages, but the Leaf is by far the busiest and most attractive out of all of them."

"Say, when are you going back to the Sand?"

"Whenever I so wish. I didn't really plan a time for me to return back. I just thought I would travel around for a while. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we are having a Christmas festival on the 24th, which is a week from today. I was just thinking that it would be nice if you came."

"Yeah, I think I will." He then looked at HInata for a second, then the space between them. "What's with that?" He pointed to their hands. "The last time I saw you, you were completely oblivious to the fact that Hinata liked you. And now, let me guess, you're dating?" Naruto smiled and Hinata blushed.

"Yeah. We are."

"I see. Well, you two looked like you were busy before. I'm going to go look around the Village again. It's really beautiful here." Gaara smiled and walked away. Naruto's stomach roared again.

"Here you go _Lady _Hinata. I hope it's as good as my pancakes." He placed the grilled cheese sandwich on the space in front of her.

"It looks good. I'm sure that it is as good as your pancakes."

"Are you sure you don't want any bacon in yours? It'll make it much better, I promise."

"Sorry Naruto. But I'll have to pass. This is enough."

"You better eat it like you ate those pancakes this morning. I'll watch you do it if I have to." He gave her a goofy smile and began to dig into his sandwich, which had bacon in it.

After several minutes, they both sat there, staring at each other. "Did you like it Hinata?"

"Of course Naruto. I wish that my father would have made me and my sister food this good when we were little." Naruto moved over a seat so he could sit next to Hinata. He leaned over and put his head on her lap, and his legs over the side of his chair.

"I'm tired. I need to go take a nap."

''Well, I am pretty tired too, now that I think about it. Maybe we can go somewhere else. The couch maybe?"

"Yeah sure. I like that idea." Reluctantly, Naruto opened his eyes and lifted his head up. He and Hinata stood up and walked over to the couch. Naruto laid down on the back cushions and Hinata laid down in front of him. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist and pulled her closer to him. She clasped her hands around Naruto's, and closed her eyes. Within what seemed like seconds, Naruto was already snoring.

Outside Naruto's living room window, the rest of their friends, excluding Kiba and Tenten, were looking inside at them.

"Hey Shikamaru! Why are you and Temari not as cute as that?"

"Shut up Choji. I honestly don't know why we're not like that. Girls, after all, are super confusing and annoying. I can never tell what she wants."

"Hey! Girls are not confusing at all! You just don't know what we want and how we feel. Once you figure that out, we won't be so confusing."

"For once, I have to agree with Ino. Though she is super annoying and stupid, she is right about girls this time."

"Ah. The power of youth has never been more important to me than at this very moment! Go Naruto!" Tears were cascading doen Lee's face like ususal.

"Lee, you don't have to be so loud. After all, they are sleeping anyway. Would you like to be woken up to find all of yours friends looking at you?" Shino brought down the mood again, like he usually does with his gloomy personality.

After that comment, everyone shut up. The boys watched with interest, and the girls were overjoyed and were very silently excited.

The time neared 3 o'clock, and most everyone had left. Only Lee and Sakura remained staring at the two.

"This means so much to me right here! The power of youth has never been so strong and apparent to me! I feel so happy for Naruto!" Lee had been crying tears of joy for about three straight hours. Sakura was amazed that he could go on for that long about youth.

"Excuse me, you two. But may I be able to have a look at my daughter and her boyfriend?" Hiashi stood behind them. The two were so startled, that they nearly fell off of the side of the apartment complex.

"Yes sir. We will move aside." The two stood up, well, if you could call standing horizontally on the side of a building standing. Hiashi peered in and looked at Naruto and Hinata, still asleep on the couch.

"They look so peaceful in there. I wonder what she been doing since she got back to the village last night? I think that I should do something to celebrate for her." Hiashi stepped back and walked away. He reached the ground and walked back to the Hyuga complex.

"Well, that was unexpected. Wasn't it?"

"Of course. I never expected Master Hiashi to show up."

Then, Naruto spoke, "If you two don't mind, then I'll be closing the curtains now." Sakura and Lee whipped back to see Naruto's mischievious smile. "Don't worry, we won't do anything like that." And with that, he closed the curtains.


	15. Chapter 15

Please leave a review! I really appreciate them. Thanks.

Chapter 15: The Festival.

Snow was blanketing the Leaf Village in a coat of white. The food stands and the little shops were illuminating the Large Village. The smells of the various foods, ramen, dumplings, and other delicacies wafted throughout the Village, uplifting everyone. Hot Chocolate carts had been set up for this special occasion. Everyone was in a good mood and the children ran around, chasing each other and playing ninja. Naruto and Hinata had been watching everything since the beginning of the festival that began that morning. They had been out wandering the Village all day, sharing small kisses with each other and holding hands. Even the shinobi from the other villages had stayed just for the festival, Gaara included, though they hadn't seen him yet.

"Say, Hinata. What did you get me for Christmas? Come on will you please tell me? I really want to know." He had been pestering her all day, trying to get even the slightest bit of information to slip from her lips, he had been unsuccessful all day long. And Hinata always gave him the same response.

"I can't tell you Naruto. But I know that you are going to like it, there's no doubt in my mind."

"Okay fine. But I can't wait to see what it is. It better be really good, for having me wait this long." Hinata just smiled, she knew that he was just fooling around. She knew that he would wait forever for it if he had to.

So Hinata fired right back at him, "Oh fine. I'll tell you if you stop pestering me about it." Naruto's eyes widened with a gleam in them. He begged her for a second before Hinata told him. "I got you that date with Sakura that you always wanted. I knew that it meant a lot to you. And I know that you've been waiting forever to get one."

"Very funny Hinata. But the only person that I want to go on dates with, is you." he tapped her right on the nose right as he said "you". That brought a big smile to Hinata's face, and also made her blush really badly.

Nearby, Shikamaru and Temari stood arm in arm watching them. "Hey Shikamaru, why do you never do stuff like that to me?"

Shikamaru chuckled for a second. "Well, for one, I am really not the most romantic and outgoing person like Naruto is, well, now he is I guess. And also, those two are the perfect match for each other." He turned to face her. "Have you ever heard of the saying, opposites attract?"

"Well, I don't think so. No."

"Well, that's what these two are. The saying doesn't mean positive and negatives magnets, opposites, attract. It just means that two completely different things go well with each other. For example, Naruto is very loud and laid-back. While Hinata is a very shy and usually serious person, like her father and Neji, and the rest of the Hyuga Clan I guess."

"Oh! I get it now. I can definitly see that in those two. Naruto is a super confident, almost overconfident person. While Hinata doesn't believe in herself that much, and lacks a lot of self confidence."

"Yeah. There are several other characteristics about them that make them the perfect match that they are. Now come on, this night isn't to focus on Naruto and Hinata. This night will be shared between the two of us, remember? Here, I'll buy us some Hot Chocolates if you want."

"Actually, I've never had one. The Sand never sold any. Yeah, I'd like to try one." The couple walked away. Meanwhile, Naruto was still pestering Hinata.

"You're positive that you're not going to tell me? If you tell me I'll tell you what you are getting. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

"I can't tell you Naruto. But I know that you are going to like it, there's no doubt in my mind."

"Wait a second, Gaara said that he would be in the Village for the festival. Have you seen him at all today? I can't even remember seeing him within the past few days either."

"U-Um, I haven't seen him at all. I wonder where he is right now."

"So, I heard that you guys were talking about me again?" Naruto and Hinta turned around to find Gaara walking towards them.

"Hey there Gaara! Where have you been? I've been waiting forever to find you."

"H-Hello Gaara." Gaara looked around his surrondings, he had the same usual look in his eyes, bored.

"Say, isn't this only the second time that you've seen snow? First at the Five Kage summit in the Land of Iron and now here?"

"Yes. But this is the first time that I've actually walked around and been in it. It wasn't as exciting and new as I thought it would have been."

"Oh! Have you had to break up any fights between Sand and Stone shinobi yet? It seems that it would be happening pretty often now. Although, now that I think about it, I haven't seen any fights between any shinobi yet."

"I haven't seen any fights either. In fact, it seems like Sand and Stone shinobi are now getting drunk together. Same goes for the Leaf and Cloud shinobi also."

"Well that's good. It really seems like everyone is getting along much better now. I really hope that I don't have to witness any fights."

"Same goes for me. Well, enjoy the festival you two. I have to get going, I want to look around the Village again. There are some really good restaurants around here. Oh, by the way, I leave the Village on the 27th so I can get back to the Sand in time for New Years. Good bye." He waved them good bye and walked away.

"Do you want to get some Hot Chocolate? It sounds pretty good right now."

"You've already drank four."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I'm just looking out for you. But, I won't do anything to stop you."

"This is why I love you Hinata." He let go of her hand and wrapped her in a huge death hug. Hinata just let her head fall onto his forearm, and she gently grabbed his arms with her hands. They just stood there for a minute or two before poeple started to take notice of them.

"Naruto. I think we should go get our hot chocolates now. I'm getting pretty cold."

"Okay. Let's go." He let go of her waist and grabbed on to her hand instead. He gave her hand a little tug, gesturing for her to move along. She smiled and begun to walked alongside Naruto.

"Do you have enough money for hot chocolate?"

"Umm.. Actually, I don't know how much money I have. Thanks for reminding me." Naruto used his other hand to grab his wallet and open it. "Well, I only have enough for one. I can buy one for you if you want."

"No. It's okay. You can buy it for yourself if you want. I don't really want one. It's okay, really."

"No, I won't take one all for myself. We should share it, if that's okay with you?"

"U-Uh sure. I'm okay with that."

"Great." Naruto and Hinta walked up to the hot chocolate vedor.

"Hello there. I'm going to assume that you two are only going to need one, right?" The man smiled and leaned on the stand. "What size would you like?"

"Medium please." Naruto handed the man the correct amount of money and stood of to the side for a second.

"It'll be about a minute or two, just hang tight." The man pocketed the money and turned around to make the hot chocolate.

"Thank you Naruto. If it wern't for you inviting me, I would still be at home training with father, even though it is Christmas Eve. I would probably still be training all day tomorrow too. I am really glad that I got to go out with you today. I really appreciate it."

"It doesn't really matter. I would always do something like this for you. And you know that too." He grabbed her and puller her close to him. "You're cold Hinata. We can go back to my apartment or I could take you home. If that's what you want, of course."

"I actually kind of want to stay out here. After all, everyone does seem pretty happy. I'm not that cold anyway. And besides, if I do get cold, you can always warm me up right?" She moved even closer to him, she didn't care if their drink never came. Hinata could stay right up against Naruto like this forever if she wanted.

"Hey you two. I told the guy at the stand I would give this to you." Kiba stood above them, looking down at them. "You two sure look very comfortable don't you?" He placed the drink down on the space right next to them.

"Kiba, stop teasing Naruto." Tenten stood right beside Kiba, clutching on to his arm. "Let's go somewhere else now. We can afford to leave these two alone." Kiba grunted and walked away with Tenten.

"Did, that really just happen?" Naruto pointed in the direction of Kiba and Tenten, mouth open.

"Come on Naruto. Our drink is right here, where Kiba left it. We should drink it before it starts to get cold." Naruto put his hand down and closed his mouth.

"You're right. We should. I was just so shocked, I never knew that either of them liked each other. This is news to me." He lifted off the cap and surveyed inside. "Here, you take the first drink." Hinata took the cup and ifted it to her lips. A moment later, she removed the cup from her mouth and looked at Naruto. Hinata had a little bit of whipped cream on her nose, and Nauto saw it. He reached out his finger, and gently, tapped her on the nose where the whipped cream was. He lifted his finger in front of his face, and put his finger in his mouth.

Hinata just looked at him ans smiled, before taking another drink. This time, she deliberately tried to ge some whipped cream on her lips. She placed the hot chocolate right beside her on the bench. She had some whipped cream on her lips. Naruto saw what she was doing, and decided to play along. He leaned in, as did Hinata. Their lips connected mid-air, and they kissed. They were completely oblivios to the fact that several people were walking by and staring, even some of their friends noticed.

At long last, they separted. "Naruto. I have an early Christmas gift to give you now."

"Oh really? Can I see it?"

Hinata moved her hand over to the side of her coat pocket, and brought something out of it. A key.

"My gift, is that I'm moving in with you."


	16. Chapter 16

Hello Everyone, me again (I know right, surprise surprise). I just want to let you know that I will not be able to post again until Monday, May Whatever. I'm going on a school trip until then. So, yeah. That's really it. See you again on Monday!

Chapter 16: Naruto and Hinata, Christmas Morning

It was the ideal Christmas Day. Blankets of white, powdery snow blanketed the entire village. The snow kept falling. The Christmas tree was hidden the corner of Naruto's living room, though it illuminated nearly the entire apartment, even the room where Naruto and Hinata were still sleeping. The colorfully wrapped presents lay snug under the large branches of the tree. The air seemed to be in the Christmas spirit too. It just had a nice pleasant and welcoming feel to everyone in the Leaf Village.

Naruto and Hinata seemed to awake at the same time. Hinata turned on to her other side so she could face Naruto. Both of them were smiling.

"Good morning beautiful. How are you doing today?"

"Good morning. I'm feeling pretty well. I sure am excited to see your face later. I can't wait to see how you react."

"Here, get up. I'll go make us some breakfast. What do you want to eat?"

"Hold on a second Naruto, we'll make breakfast together. I still have to do some stuff around here. After all, I still do live here." Naruto still couldn't believe that Hiashi had let Hinata move in to his apartment with him.

"Okay. But what should we make?" Hinata thought about it for a second before telling him.

"I think that we should make some hash browns. I really want some right now."

"Okay. But you have to teach me how to make them. I don't know how." Hinata smiled.

"Of course I'll show you. That way we can make them together again."

"So when did you actually have the time to move all your stuff into here?" Naruto showed more hash browns into his mouth and waited for an answer.

"Well, father actually helped out a lot. And Gaara helped me out too. That's why you didn't see him yesterday, he was moving my stuff into your apartment. And a few of our friends also helped out to."

"Well they sure did a good job. I never expected that I would find your belongings in our apartment when we came back. I really am impressed that you guys got all this stuff into here in just a few hours." Naruto shoved another mouthful of hash browns in his mouth. "It really is nice that we are living together now. I never thought that Hiashi would let you do anything like this, especially with me."

"I guess some people can change. I'm just glad that father changed in a good way." Hinata put the last little bit of food into her mouth. Naruto had already finished several hash browns, Hinata just had one.

"Okay. Let's go open our presents now." Then, they heard a knock at the front door. Naruto went to answer it.

"What you are doing here Kakashi? And on Christmas morning too?" Kakashi showed no emotion, as usual.

"Well. Good morning Naruto." He looked over Naruto's shoulder. "I see. So the rumors were true. Hinata actually did move in with you. Well, in that case." Kakashi pulled out two colorfully wrapped boxes from behind his back. "These are for you. One for you Naruto, and the other for Hinata. I forgot to write who got which, but, no matter. You two can figure it put together. Later." He tossed the presents at Naruto and disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

"That damn Kakashi." Naruto closed the door with his foot and walked back into the kitchen. "Well, lets open Kakashi's gifts first." He placed the presents on the table, one was orange, the other, lavender. "I'm pretty positive that the orange one is for me. And the lavender one is for you."

"Probably." Naruto slid the lavender box over to Hinata. Naruto began to rip his open.

He triumphantly held two bowls of packaged ramen in his hands. "No way! How did Kakashi even ge his grabby chidoris on these? These are extremely rare special edition ramen!" Naruto had a huge gleam in his eyes. He also noticed that there was one other thing in the box. "Bells? Why did Kakashi give me two bells?" Naruto realized why. "Now lets see what you got Hinata."

"Okay." Hinata gently ripped of the wrapping paper. "What is this?" Hinata held a jacket that was exactly the same as Naruto's. Except there was lavender instead of orange, and the Hyuga Clan logo instead of the Uzumaki Clan logo.

"That Kakashi. It looks exactly the same as my jacket."

"That's because it is the same style as your jacket." Hinata put it on. "It fits perfectly." Hinata left it on a walked to grab a present from under the tree. It was a rather small box with a bright box bow on the top. It was about the size of a softball, except square. "I got this one made specially for you." She handed Naruto the box and eagerly looked at him. Naruto opened his gift and grabbed the small object inside.

"What is it?" Naruto was holding a small necklace. The object on the end was a lavender colored flat circle with the initials, HH, on it.

''That is a necklace. The object on the end is like a little sensor. I filled it with my chakra. Whenever the pendant is still purple, you will know that I am still alive. No matter how far away we are from each other. Whenever I die, my chakra will run out, thus making the color on the pendant go away. So whenever you become Hokage and I am still going on missions, you can look at it just so you are sure that I am still alive. I didn't get one with your chakra because, well, I couldn't get any of your chakra sample."

"This is beautiful Hinata. I really love it. It must have been really expensive to be able to craft this. I'm not sure if all my gifts can live up to this one." Naruto put it around his neck and examined it for a second. "Time for you to open one of yours." Naruto walked to he tree and grabbed a fairly large gift. "This is one very fragile. Be careful." He placed in down on Hinata's lap and watched with great interest as she opened it.

"No way! This can't really be them. I thought that Hiashi had all these." The gift, was all of Neji's headbands. They were all in a glass case, with the standard Leaf headband at the top, with the Allied Shinobi Forces headband right below it, and below that one, was a headband with the outline of Neji's figure carved into it. All displayed in a 2x2 glass case.

"It took a lot of time and persuasion, but, Hiashi decided to give it to me. I thought that I would give this one to you on your birthday, but I decided that I would give this to you today. I know that Neji means a lot to you." Hinata was speechless, she had no way of thanking Naruto at that moment.

"T-This means a lot to me. I would love to make it up to you somehow." Another pause. "I love you Naruto."

"I love you too Hinata. I have another gift for you. Let me go and get it.'' Naruto stood up and walked over to the tree. This time though, the box that Naruto picked up was relatively small. He walked back and handed it to Hinata, who gently removed the wrapping paper from the box.

"Really? This is so beautiful Naruto. I love it." Hinata slipped the ring onto her left index finger. The ring had a mobius strip pattern to it, and the jewel was the real attraction about it. The jewel, was shaped like a rose. But it wasn't red. The colors complimented each other nicely, the orange and lavender swirled together perfectly.

"I thought you would like it. The jeweler did take quite a while to make it though. But there is one surprise about it. Let me see." Hinata took of the ring and handed it to Naruto. "See this?" He pointed to the little etchings along the mobius strip.

"It says, 'NU + HH'." Naruto smiled and gave it back to her. Hinata was smiling also, she absolutely loved it. "I also have one more gift for you." Hinata walked over to the tree and grabbed a scroll that was underneath one of the lowest branches. "This is a summoning scroll. All alone, the gift is pretty big and has a lot of stuff to it. So, I decided that it would be best if I put all of it into this summoning scroll." She handed it to Naruto, who immediately opened it and placed it on the floor. He bit his finger to draw blood and swiped it across the scroll.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Then, about four stacks of paper, all about five feet tall, were there. "What is all this?"

"Look at the one on the top." Naruto grabbed the paper that was on the top, and began to examine it.

"Effects of the Rasengan while in Sage Mode? These are all Jiraiya sensei's!"

"All of these are notes that Master Jiraiya took whenever he mastered a new jutsu, or observations he made while modifying his jutsus."

"These are all, jutsus that Jiraiya sensei mastered? He left an arsenal behind for us! I have to master all these! But not right now, though." He dismissed the summoning and all the papers disappeared in a puff of white smoke. "Thank you Hinata. You really put a lot of thought into your gifts didn't you."

"So did you Naruto. I really like what you got me." Naruto slid across the couch towards her. Smiling, Hinata playfully moved away from him an inch or two. Then, Naruto moved towards her again, closing the gap between them. Hinata slid another inch, with Naruto closing the gap again. This time, Hinata had nowhere to move, for she was pressed against the armrest. Naruto wrapped her in a big hug. Hinata just rested her head on Naruto's shoulder and closed her eyes. Naruto let go for a second, and used his hand to lift Hinata's chin so that she was looking directly into his eyes. Naruto leaned in to kiss her, and Hinata did nothing to stop him from doing it. Hinata closed her eyes and turned her head just a little bit to the right. They both leaned in simultaneously, and their lips made contact.

Hinata fell backwards and slid down the couch, with Naruto on top of her, still kissing. Hinata separated for just a second. She looked directly into his eyes, and smiled. As did Naruto. Hinata put her hands onto Naruto's shirt, and Naruto got the hint. He let her take it off of him. Now, Naruto was making a silent, but desperate plea to remove Hinata's shorts. She let him pull off her shorts. Now, the only thing that was separting Naruto from what he wanted, was Hinata's purple panties. She was still smiling, so was Naruto. He leaned in to kiss her again, and Hinata did the same. Naruto grabbed her and stood up, with her still in his arms. Hinata let go, but didn't stop kissing Naruto. She grabbed his sweatpants, and dragged them down to the floor. Now, Naruto was only in his boxers. And, Naruto was aiming to get her shirt off. He let go of Hinata, and separated his lips. He looked directly into her eyes.

"Can I?" Hinata just smiled and nodded. The next moment, Hinata's shirt was thrown over the couch. Naruto and Hinata stood there, both of them in just their underwear. Both, with a desire.

"Do you think that I have earned it this time?" Naruto just smiled and wrapped her into a big hug. His hands deliberately searched Hinata's back for her bra strap.

"Yes. I think you do." Then, Naruto undid the strap.


	17. Chapter 17

Hello all. I have some good news and bad news.

Good news: I am now back from my trip and I will be able to upload content again.

Bad News: Not as often. The chapters are progressively getting longer and I have more to write. So, just be wary of that. I'm sorry.

Chapter 17: A Naruto and Hinata Christmas: Evening/Night

Naruto and Hinata had fallen asleep again that morning, this time in their bed. No, they did not have sex. That disappointed Naruto a little bit, but he understood why she didn't want to do it.

"Hey! Naruto! Hinata! Open up! We have something to remind you guys about! Open the door!" Naruto just rolled over and pretended that there was no noise whatsoever. Hinata moved a bit closer to Naruto, close enough that they were touching. Hinata still hadn't put her bra back on, even after several hours. "If you guys don't open up I swear, I will punch this door open!" Naruto decided to take Sakura's threat a little more seriously now.

"Hinata. I'm going to put on some pants and go see what she wants. I'll be back in a minute. Don't you dare move a muscle." Then, to Sakura. "Ok Sakura! I'm coming! Just give me a second." Naruto got out of the bed, reluctantly. He scrambled around to find some pants, but he didn't find any in the bedroom.

"I think that your pants are still in the living room."

"Oh. Thanks Hinata." He opened the bedroom door and immediately found his pants on the ground right by the coffee table. He slid them on and went to answer the door. "Okay Sakura. Don't blow the door open, I'm right here." He opened the door and found all of his friends looking right at him. Except Shino, Shino was staring of into space as usual.

"Remember the party Naruto? The one that Lady Tsunade invited us to? In her office?" Naruto just looked at them with a blank face. "Gosh. You are so forgetful sometimes." Sakura just shook her head and let out a sigh.

"I was never told about a party at Grandma Tsunade's. You guys are just bullshitting me."

"Oh shit. He's right." Tenten just realized. "Yeah, we never told you about the party, did we? Well, the party is tonight at seven."

"But it's only two o'clock. Why did you come get me know?"

"We just came to remind you." She paused. "And Hinata. We thought you guys, well, actually just you, would have forgot about it."

"Well, that would have been helpful. If you had actually told us about the party in the first place." Tenten chuckled nervously a little bit and rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We just kind of, well you know, forgot to tell you about it." Naruto just sighed. "Hey! What's that over there?" She pointed to the white shirt that was hanging over the back of the couch. "Isn't that Hinata's?" She leaned in a little more, but everyone else was having that same idea.

Shikamaru spoke, "I think that is. It seems to me that you guys are up to something." He moved his face so that it was barely an inch from Naruto's nose. "Is there something that you would like to share with the rest of us? Huh Naruto?"

Naruto pushed all of them out of his apartment and slammed the door. "Nope! There is nothing that I'm hiding! Everything is okay! See all of you at seven!"

"Well, if you push us out of your apartment and slam the door on us, then something must be going on." Naruto heard a few murmurs of agreement coming from outside.

"Just go, we'll meet up with you later." Naruto left the door and walked back toward their bedroom.

"What was all that noise about Naruto?" Hinata sat up and stared intently into his eyes.

"Nothing really. It was just a reminder that there was some Christmas party tonight at Old Grandma Tsunade's." He sat down on side side of the bed. "Say, did they ever tell you that there was a Christmas party?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I think they did tell me a week or two ago. But I'm not really sure."

Naruto sighed. "I defeat Obito. I stopped the Akatsuki. I saved the village several times. And yet, they don't even tell me that there is some sort of Christmas Party. I can't believe them." Hinata just kind of sighed mentally. She didn't want to say anything to him, so she just threw the covers off and pulled Naruto onto his back with a big hug, so he was practically right on top of her. Naruto smiled and placed his hands on top of hers. Damn, who ever knew that breasts would be this soft.

"Hinata." He rolled off the top of her and they both rearranged their positions so they could face each other.

"Yes Naruto. Is there something you need?" He just started at her for a second or two. Just staring. His chest didn't move. He didn't breath. He didn't blink. He didn't move. All he did, was stare. Right into Hinata's large lavender eyes.

"Do you really think that the Akatsuki is truly gone?"

"What do you mean? Of course they are gone. We defeated them Naruto. You defeated them."

"That wasn't what I meant." His stare got colder and his tone was more serious.

"What do you mean then?"

"Do you think that their purpose is gone? I'm pretty sure that some people looked up at them. Maybe even worshipped them. The more I think about, the more I agree with what they wanted." He turned over and looked at the ceiling. "All they wanted was total peace. That was their purpose." He turned back and faced her. "To me, we are all Akatsuki members at heart. This purpose that they wanted, no one had a name for it. Until Nagato came along. We all wanted peace. That is why we are all members of the Akatsuki." Hinata was speechless. He was absolutely. "Although, it is pretty ironic that once they were defeated, total peace was reached. But of course, unrest will come again within our lifetimes. You of everyone in the Leaf Village should know that."

"What do you mean?"

"Give me some paper and a pencil, and I'll show you."

"Okay look." Naruto drew the Yin-Yang. "Recognize it?"

Hinata nodded. "That is the Hyuga clan logo. What about it?"

"I thought you would ask that. I'm surprised you don't know this." He drew one side on the Ying-Yang on the other side of the paper. He left it blank. White. "The white part of the Yin-Yang represents the good in this world." He then drew the circle and filled it in. "This is the bad inside of the good. You see, we are all good. Sasuke is a good example of this part." He pointed to the white part. "Sasuke was a good person. I knew him. Respected him. Look up to him. Rivaled with him. He was my best friend. He was a good friend too." He then pointed to the circle of black. "This, this right here...is what happened to him on that one night. The night were Itachi slaughtered his entire clan, and his parents, right in front of him. But Sasuke's only problem, was that he let his black circle grow. And it eventually consumed him." He looked at her. Then back down at the diagram. "My black circle, I don't know what it is. Sasuke didn't know either. You know what my black circle is. I know yours. But you don't know what your's is. You have to figure that out. Just as I have to figure out mine."

He drew the rest of the Yin-Yang. Except the little white circle. "The black represents the evil in this world. And the white circle," he erased a little bit of the black to form a white circle. "This is the good that is in the evil. The Akatsuki is the most perfect example of this that I can think of. They were evil. The things they did, how they acted, how they wanted to achieve their goals, was just horrible and evil. But," he pointed to the circle, "The good that rested inside them. Was the fact that they were using their evil to achieve good. Except, it didn't work. But, they still had good inside them. They were good people in the heart, especially Nagato and Itachi." He drew a regular circle. "This is what he Akatsuki wanted to achieve. Except, it didn't work. Even though we all want this, it will never work. Ever." He drew a circle around each Yin-Yang. "This is life. The evil in the good. The good in the evil. And in the end, they balance each other out. There is no complete white circle or complete black circle. It will always be like this." He looked at her in the eye. He was expressionless. And his eyes never even wavered. (This gave me goosebumps just writing it. I hope I gave you goosebumps. I hope this spoke to you on a personal level. Let me know if it did. I wanted you to feel like this.)

It was still snowing when Naruto and Hinata reached Lady Tsunade's office. Naruto opened the door and let Hinata go ahead of him.

"Hey you two! You guys are pretty early. Lady Tsunade isn't even here yet." Tenten stood in the doorframe, hand in hand with Kiba.

"Well, are you going to let us in? Don't leave us in the doorway."

"Oh, right." They stepped out of the way and let the two enter. "Well? What do you think of the job that we did?" Honestly, Naruto thought that it was amazing. The multi-colored lights were strung above every window frame and ran all the way around the office. The only illumination came from the Christmas lights and the very dimly illuminated ceiling light. You could see across the room, but just barely. The Hokage's desk had been pushed way off to the side with the rest of the book shelves so that it wouldn't get in the way. A plastic fold-up table had been placed against the wall by the windows containing various snacks and punch.

"Hey everyone. When will Tsunade get back? Do you know?" Everyone looked at him for a second.

"Well, I saw her an hour or two ago at a bar. I can't say how long she's been there. But she might be back pretty soon. She still looked at a bit sober then." Kiba got a laugh out of everyone, except Kakashi.

"It seems like everyone we know is here." It was true. All his friends, his sensei, and a handful of what seemed to be Kakashi's friends, even Kurenai sensei had made an appearance, and was sitting in a chair in a far corner. Her belly looked even bigger now. She must be close to giving birth now.

He walked over to Kurenai with Hinata right behind him. "Is it a boy or a girl?''

Kurenai just smiled and patted her stomach. "Boy."

"Congratulations!" Hinata stared at her stomach for a second. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Actually yes I have." She looked down. "Asuma. After his father."

"That's great! I'm sure that he will become a fine warrior just like him. I'm sure he would be eager to take after Asuma sensei."

"I'm sure of it." Just then, Tsunade barged in through the door.

"Just what the hell is going on in here!? I go to the bar for a few hours and I come back to find my office like….like…. like this! Somebody explain."

"Well, this was my idea. I guess I should take the heat for this." Kakashi stepped forward, away from his friends. "We planned a Christmas party. This is our gift to you."

Lee spoke up. "Lady Tsunade! You always seemed so stressed out and we thought that using our power of youth would help you blow off some of your steam!" Then, Tenten turned up the stereo that was on a shelf. Loud, fast-paced music began to blare from the speakers that were circled around the room. Tsunade just stared dumbfounded at everything.

"All right. I'll let this happen. But you must clean up the mess that follows." Everyone smiled and nodded their heads.

Naruto sat down, sweating and exhausted from the dancing that he had done. But his bliss lasted for only a second, because a slow song started.

"Uh..umm.. Naruto will you-"

"Hinata. You don't have to ask. Remember, we do live in the same apartment together." Hinata just blushed and smiled and tapped her fingers together. Naruto stood up and took Hinata's hand in his. He guided her to the middle of the office-turned-dancefloor. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto placed his hands on her waist. They began to rock back and forth, gently. Like a still boat in the ocean. Like a baby swinging in its crib. Like an abandoned swing left swinging. But they were soon interrupted by a bright flash of white light.

''This one is a keeper." Tsunade held the camera in front of her.

"What was that for?" Naruto questioned Tsunade's motives.

"Don't worry. I also got photos of Kiba and Tenten, Ino and Chouji, Shikamaru and Temari, and Sakura and Lee. You're not the only ones. But you are the cutest." Tsunade winked and walked away.

Naruto looked into Hinata's eyes and smiled. "I love you, Hinata."

"I love you too, Naruto."

"


	18. A Request

Hello all, ttrq here (surprise, I know right.) And I am here now to call upon a favor from my most dear and epic followers (and all the people who have read my story). I am absolutely bullshit at writing fight scenes. And therefore, I am asking you guys to write me one. Please, if you guys would be as awesome as to write me a lengthy Naruto and Sasuke fight scene (Preferably 1,500-20,00 words. But it doesn't matter). Just let me know in the comments of this chapter (if you call call it that) if you will be willing to write me one. Then if you do, please e-mail the scene to me at naruhinattrq . I know this may sound selfish, but please don't think that it is. I just don't want to end up giving you guys a long, boring, and uninteresting fight scene. I think you guys would rather have a more fast-paced, exciting, and interesting scene. This is all for you guys. Thanks if you can help.


	19. Chapter 18

Hello once again. Sorry for not posting in the past couple days. My internet has been going on and off (mostly off though). And That is why I have not posting in I think five days. So yeah. Enjoy.

Chapter 18: Naruto Sensei

Note: I'm pretty sure that Naruto and Hinata are both 17. That's how old I'm going to make them in this chapter.

"What!? I don't have to take the Chunin or Jonin exams?" Naruto was taken aback. He could not believe what the village elders were telling him.

"Correct."

"Why are you doing this? I should have to take the exams just like everybody else."

"Kakashi is the strongest Jonin that we have. Even he couldn't beat one of the Pains, and he died trying to." The elder lady pointed a finger at him. "But you revived him by beating all the Six Paths of Pain. And Nagato. And Obito. And most of the Akatsuki. You are stronger than him. You may even be the strongest Shinobi in the world. We have discussed it and we decided that we should promote you to Jonin."

Naruto just stood there for a second. It made sense what they were thinking, but it just didn't seem fair.

"Now, you have a choice." Naruto looked up from his feet and looked at them. "You have five choices. One: You may choose to become a teacher at the academy next year, like Iruka. Two: You may choose to become a guard of the Village. Three: You may choose to become a sensei to three graduates, like Kakashi. Four: You may choose to try to become an ANBU. And number five, probably the most appealing to you, you may choose to stay with Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, and Sai and stay in your squad, like Neji. Make your choice. You can always change again if you so wish."

Immediately, Naruto made his choice. "I reached my decision."

*** Time skip: Three Weeks

"No Way! We get to have Naruto as our sensei! This is awesome!" His three graduates looked up at Naruto wide-eyed with amazement.

"Okay guys sit down." They obeyed like dogs. "What we are going to do is you are going to tell me what your name is, what you like, what you don't like, and what you want to accomplish. Are there any questions?" All three hands went up. "Uh, you. The one on the very right."

"Actually, I have two questions."

"Okay, what are they?"

"My first one is," she pointed to Hinata, who was standing right behind Naruto. "Why is she here?"

"Well, I asked Hinata to come here with me to help me out." The girl nodded. "What was your second question?"

"I-I forgot." Naruto just nodded.

"I know what you are going to ask. All of you were going to ask it." They just stared at him with curiosity. "I think once I teach you enough, I can teach you how to do the rasengan. But wait!" They all calmed down. "You need to tell me your names first and all those other things I asked. You, go."

"Well, my name is Inori. I like to help people, especially those who believe in the same thing as me. I will serve them and help them as long as need be. I don't really not like anything in particular. My only goal is to keep fighting for what I believe in, and fight for others who believe in the same thing as me. Inori had a little more than shoulder length hair, which she kept two small strands over each shoulder. She was pretty and almost emotionless, but she was good at faking them, like Sai.

"Okay good. Who's next?"

"My name is Kirito. I like to help out my fellow shinobi, even if I don't know who they are. I also like it when people help me. And I like to be right. Ironically, I don't like to work in groups, it seems like too much can go wrong at once. I also don't like letting others down, I will always fulfill my promises. I don't really have anything that I want to accomplish, just get stronger and protect everyone that I can. I don't have a lot of friends because I choose not too, and I don't want to." Kirito looked strong, even for just a twelve year old kid. He has handsome, and had somewhat short, spiky, and unneat hair. He had a nice smile. And he seemed really closed off from everyone else.

"Well, Kirito. You seem like an interesting shinobi. I've never meet someone like you before. Tell me, are you strong?"

The third kid butted in, "Yeah! He was at the top of our class."

"And who might you be?"

"My name is Yuri. I like to be the leader, everyone says that I am a natural leader." Hanabi and Kirito nodded in agreement. "I'm strong, confident, and I like to help whoever will side with me. I like to get things when I need them, instead of want them. I like to look after whoever is siding with me, and I wish everyone would. I don't like it when people abandon me. I don't like it when I don't have control of a situation. And I especially don't like to leave anyone out. There is only one thing that I really want to accomplish, and that is to not let any of my comrades die!" Yuri was very pretty. She had big sea green eyes, almost as big as Hinata's and Hanabi's. Her fuschia almost purple hair reached to the bottom of her shoulder blades. She had a slim figure, and she seemed to be really fast, but not strong.

"Well, I seem to really like you guys. I think that you are a great squad, although I do see a lot of flaws. I won't tell you them yet. I need to get a little further analysis before I can really say."

Kirito spoke up, "What do you mean by analysis?"

Naruto smiled. "This," he pulled out two bells from his pocket. "Is the fun part." Hinata seemed to be pretty curious too. Naruto stood up. "Okay. Let me explain what we are going to do. You three are going to try to take these bells from me. And you can't get them without coming at me with the intent to kill. Remember that. You will have twenty-four hours to take these from me. Until sundown tomorrow. Any questions?"

Yuri's hand went up. "Why are there only two bells?"

"Excellent question. There aren't just two bells."

"What do you mean?"

"I have hidden a third one around the village somewhere. I won't tell you where it is." He stopped for a second. "Actually, I will tell you. The third bell will be on top of the Mountainside Images. The third Hokage's head to be exact. Any other questions?"

Kirito spoke. "Say, if only two of us get the bells, what happens to the third person?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'll be treating you all to dinner tomorrow. Whoever loses, has to pay for their own dinner."

"ANd if all three of us get a bell?"

"I'll pay for everything. Whatever you want." He looked at the sun, it was starting to sink. Naruto summoned a shadow clone. "You may start coming after me when the sun goes down. The clone will disappear when you can start. And it will not hesitate to stop you if you try to cheat. Last call for questions."

Inori spoke. "Earlier you said that Lady Hinata would be here to assist you. What did you mean by that?"

"Hinata will help you, if she wants that is. And one more thing," they all looked at him. "You must have a bell in your possession tomorrow at sundown. It must be in your hand. I can try to take it from you before that. Good luck. Hinata and I will go now." Naruto and Hinata jumped off the building and went toward their designated positions.

*** Time Skip: Sundown

The clone suddenly disappeared.

Yuri spoke. "Remember the plan everyone?" They nodded. "Good. Inori, come with me."

Hinata cradled the bell in her hand. She could watch the dark blue figure rush toward the Mountainside Images. She didn't want to fight Kirito, but it seemed that there would be no other choice. She sighed and pocketed the bell. Kirito was getting closer.

***Place Skip: Ichiraku Ramen

Naruto downed another mouthful of noodles. He hadn't eaten dinner that night, so he was beyond hungry. After all, a full soldier fights better than a hungry one.

"Say Naruto, I heard that you became a sensei, aren't you doing their initiation thing today?"

"Actually, I am. Right now. I just hadn't eaten today, so I thought it eat a bowl or two."

"Or ten." Naruto nodded."You should probably go soon. We don't need you wrecking the Village with your crazy battles."

"Okay. You're probably right. But just one more bowl, this time with extra fish kegs."

"Coming right up!"

*** Place Skip: Mountainside Images

"Good day, Lady Hinata. I came here to look for the bell that Naruto said was here. You must know where it is right? You are standing on top of the Third Hokage's image after all."

"Oh, hello Kirito. I didn't see you coming." Which was a complete lie. "I know what you are looking for. And I know where it is."

"Really!? Can you tell me?" Hinata took the bell out from her pocket and dangled it in front of her. She swung it back and forth, almost taunting Kirito. "That's great. I'm glad you found it. Could you give it to me."

"I am under orders from Naruto to not give up this bell. No matter what it takes. You will have to take it from me." Kirito smiled and unsheathed a sword from his back. It was pure black.

"Oh well. I wanted to avoid conflict and just find the bell, but I guess I have to face you." Hinata smiled and felt a small chill. She could almost feel his aura. He seemed to have excellent chakra control, and he seemed to have a lot of it too. Hinata tossed the bell up into the air.

*** Place Skip: Third Training Grounds

"It seems that you guys have been searching for quite a while." Yuri responded by throwing a kunai at him, which Naruto caught. "You're not going to get these bells." He took them out of his pockets and dangled them in front of his face. "Come and try." Yuri and Inori simultaneously threw kunai at him. Just before they hit, Naruto threw the bells in the air. The kunai passed right through the shadow clone. The bells soared through the air, but not before another Naruto appeared out of the smoke and grabbed the bells. But Inori also had the same idea. She tried to kick Naruto's hand, but that same hand grabbed her relatively small foot, and he tossed her aside like a rag doll. She landed hard in the dirt.

"We're going to get those bells. I bet that Kirito has already gotten his bell."

"I don't really think so. I gave Hinata the third bell and told her to wait at the Third Hokage's Mountainside Image. I assumed that Kirito would go alone. And that's what Hinata excels at. One on one. And I noticed that Kirito looked strong, but probably not Hinata strong."

"You are mistaken Naruto-sensei. Kirito was in the top of our class. He could beat all of us in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and he was pretty good and Genjutsu too. But he isn't a prodigy at that like he is the others. And he can use two swords in combat. But we've never seen it. And he refuses to show us his Ice Kekkei Genkai." Inori wiped the dirt off her face and threw another kunai. Naruto spun, and he grabbed the kunai with his left hand and spun some more. He let go of the kunai when he knew he could hit Yuri. Inori did the same spin thing as Naruto, except she managed to grab three kunai mid-spin and threw them all at once at Naruto, almost in like a diamond shape. Naruto easily managed to dodge three, but the fourth hit his shoulder. Yuri was an absolute dead-eye. She never seemed to miss him.

"Ah, Yuri. You're always right on mark. You never miss, do you?" Yuri smiled, he figured out her greatest skill.

"Never." Yuri seemed to gather a ball of fire in her right hand. "And I never will miss." She threw the ball. It seemed to go and supersonic speed. Naruto noticed that she could use both wind and fire chakra nature. She used the wind to propel the fire, which also fueled it.

"You're right. You never miss." Naruto was holding a rasengan in his hand, with the ball of fire pushing against it. "Good thing I had saved up some sage mode chakra. Else I wouldn't have had time to use this rasengan." He paused a second. "Watch this." He pushed the fireball back with his rasengan and his wind chakra, which made it go even faster.

Inori spoke. "You're never going to hit her. She's a natural prodigy. She can use wind, fire, and earth chakra. She's in the ground right now." She pulled out a scroll. "I didn't want to use this." She opened it and bit her finger. "Summoning Jutsu!" A giant, solid titanium sword. It was at least twice the length of Zabuza's, and about twice as thick. Although it had the same width. "I have to play my trump card, I guess." She brandished the sword. "Its name is, _Gin Yugure. _(Silver Dusk) It can never break. It is reinforced titanium that is guaranteed to never break. And it is extremely light." She seemed to stroke it. "It knows who its master is. I will never be hurt by Gin Yugure." The setting sun seemed to make the sword even more terrifying. The sword had a wave pattern etched in dark blue stretching across the middle.

"I'm guessing that you have a water chakra nature." Still emotionless, Inori nodded. Just then, Yuri appeared out of the ground right in front of Inori.

"Hit me." Yuri smiled and nodded. She formed a ball of fire and, tossed it in front of Inori. She smiled and swung Gin Yugure. The fireball came straight for Naruto.

"What have these kids been learning at the academy? They're much stronger than I was I when I was their age."

*** Place Skip: Mountainside Images

Kirito never stopped swinging. And what was more surprising, was that he didn't use two hands to handle his sword.

"You are much stronger than I expected you to be, Kirito."

"The same goes to you Lady Hinata." She had her gentle fist in one hand, and a kunai in the other. Kirito kept swinging. Hinata kept blocking. And sparks kept flying. "I'm going to get that bell." Kirito stopped for a second. Hinata stayed on her guard for a second. But to her surprise, the air around her seemed to freeze. Little chunks of ice began to fall from the air around her.

"I have the Ice Kekkei Genkai. I have mastered it. I have complete control over it. But right now, there isn't enough moisture in the air. So I can't do this for very long. Hold on Lady Hinata, because I will have that bell in less than minute. Time starts now." Suddenly, a cage of ice appeared around her. And the bell started to burn.

"I also have an ace up my sleeve." A sudden blast of air meant that her Twin Lion Fists were fully functional. She obliterated the ice bars and looked to find Kirito.

"Behind you." Hinata turned around to find Kirito staring at her. With an interesting glare at now held his second sword, a pale blue almost teal colored one. And little ice daggers floated around him, like an ice shield. "Give me the bell. I don't want to go ballistic and kill you Lady Hinata. It has happened before. This is your last warning."

"You know, you're really not as strong as you make yourself to be."

"What do you mean."

"I don't mean to badly criticize you but, you are much too confident in your own powers. I mean, you do have some really great skills. And you are already at your limit." Which was true, he was sweating bullets and some a little uneven breathing. Hinata wasn't trying all that hard. "I haven't even activated by byakugan yet." Kirito was getting furious. Which meant he was about to get reckless. "But. I think you deserve the bell."

Kirito reeled back in surprise. "What do you mean Lady Hinata?"

"You deserve the bell. You tried your best. I pushed you to your limit. I would have beaten you if you went any further. And we both knew that. But, you still wanting to get this bell. You really deserve this bell." She handed him the bell. "Now, go help your squad."

"Why are you giving me this?"

"There was one condition when Naruto gave me his orders: He said I could give you the bell if you prove that you are good with teamwork, don't give up, just keep trying, or defeat me. You kept trying and never gave up, even though you were at your limit. Good job."

*** Place skip: Third Training Grounds

"Hold up! Stop for a second." Yuri and Inori were both glad to stop. They had been hitting fireballs at Naruto for some time now. But they never hit him. Naruto didn't even have to use Sage Mode anymore. It got much too easy for him.

"Why should we stop?"

"Because I'm going to give you the bells." Yuri and Inori were taken aback for a second. Then, Naruto stepped out of the woods where he had been hiding. He motioned for Inori to come to him. She came. "Try to hit me." Inori swung her massive sword at Naruto, but he had the blade wedged between his hands. "You're at your limit. You have no more chakra left. You can barely even lift your sword, much less cut me into two." The shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with Inori's summoning.

"You mean we were fighting a shadow clone this entire time?" Yuri seemed furious.

"Yes. But that shadow clone was almost at my level. I told him not to go all-out against you." Naruto appeared from behind the log that he had originally been at. He had the bells in his hand. "Yuri and Inori, catch." He tossed a bell to each of them, and they were caught without ease.

"Why are we getting these."

"Because I told myself: If they display excellent teamwork, don't give up, just keep trying, or defeat me. Of course, you did those first three things. You didn't defeat me, but you do deserve to get the bells. You worked hard. Good job."

Note: I made Kirito, Inori, and Yuri like this. I totally meant to do that. Kirito from Sword Art Online, Inori from Guilty crown, and Yuri from Angel Beats. This isn't a totally wild coincidence.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Mission Number 12

"Can we finally get a C-Rank or B-Rank mission this time? I'm absolutely tired of doing a bunch of D-Rank missions. These are so boring to go back to."

"Naruto. This is what you agreed to by becoming a sensei to these three genin."

"I know that, Grandma Tsunade. But, can we get some really cool mission. Maybe an assassination? Or can we get a mission where we stop a bunch of rogue ninja? Maybe even an escort mission?"

"NO! These kids are just genin. Do you want to get them killed after only six weeks of graduation?"

"Of course not. I just want them to do something other than dog-walking and flower picking. That isn't what they spent years at the academy for. They spent years training to be shinobi who can use their abilities to stop evil and travel the world." He slammed his palms on Tsunade's desk. "And I bet they want to do a more exciting and more challenging mission. Why don't we ask them?"

"Would you like to go on a higher ranked mission?" Kirito, Inori, and Yuri nodded in approval.

"See? They do as much as I do."

"Well, alright then." She lifted a piece of paper. "This is an assassination mission." She handed him the paper, who then handed the paper to his students. "Find out the source of these murders, and stop him. Killing him would be the best way to do this. He doesn't sound like much of a threat."

"All right. We accept this mission."

"Thank You Lady Tsunade." The genin said in chorus and left the office.

"Well then. Good bye Grandma Tsunade." Naruto turned around but he didn't even get to step.

"Hold it right there Naruto!" He turned around and glared at her. "Don't let them get killed. You will be willing to give up your life to save those three kids. That's what you signed up for right?"

"You don't understand Tsunade." He slammed his palms on her desk. "I didn't want this mission for me. I wanted them to go on it. These kids are stronger than you would believe. I've fought them. They are stronger than me when I was their age. These kids, as you call them, are much more capable and trustworthy than some of the shinobi I know. One murderer with a knife who doesn't even know ninjutsu isn't even a challenge for one of my students." He stood up. "I would recommend the kids for the Chunin exams right now, if I had the chance that is. "

"It sounds like you really believe in them, don't you?"

"We won't let you down. We'll be back in less than a week." He strutted out the office door and met his students outside.

"When are we leaving Naruto-sensei?"

"As soon as you guys want."

"We want to leave as soon as possible!"

"Well okay then." He looked at the sun. "Pack your stuff and meet me at the main gate in two hours." He looked at them. "Mission number 12 is almost underway!"

***Time Skip: 30 minutes.

"Hinata! Are you home?" Naruto swung the door open and frantically looked around the apartment.

"I'm in the kitchen. Why?" He walked into the kitchen and found her making lunch for both of them. He snuck up behind her and and wrapped his arms around him. Hinata just ignored him. He'd done it several times a day ever since she moved in seven months ago.

"I have to leave in an hour and a half for a mission with the students. We have to stop this murderer in some village in the Land of Rain."

"Naruto. I have to ask you something."

"Of course, Hinata. What is it?"

"What if we got married?" Naruto stood still for a second, frozen. He didn't blink. He didn't breathe. He didn't even loosen his grip on her.

"What do you mean? Of course we're going to get married. I have no doubt about it."

"That isn't what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean then?"

"Never mind."

"Hinata." She didn't respond. She just kept making lunch. "Hinata." Naruto was starting to get a little bit more impatient. "Hinata. Please look at me." She stopped. And turned to face him. "We're going to get married. Don't you ever think otherwise." He pulled out the necklace that she got him. "Remember these? I got you one too, remember?" It was true Hinata got one for her birthday. "The only time I will not marry you, is when the one I gave you stops shining. That's the only time." He put his away. Hinata just put her hand over hers.

"Naruto, I-" he stopped her.

"It doesn't matter where I am. If I'm stranded at sea, I will come back. If Sasuke captures me, I will kill him and come back. If my arms and legs are cut off, I will come back. There's never a time when I won't come back. And that's my promise to you. We're going to get married. That's another promise. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. It might not be for thirty years. But we are going to get married. And I will come back to you. Those are my promises." Hinata dropped the knife on the ground, and returned Naruto's hug.

"I will make the same promises to you, Naruto. I won't ever leave you behind. And no matter where I am, I will find my way back to you. And I will search for you if you ever get lost."

"Thank you, Hinata." They didn't speak for a minute or two. They just hugged.

*** Time Skip: One Hour

"Thanks for helping me pack." Naruto was fed and ready to go. He had packed all his stuff required for his mission. Or well, Hinata did most of the packing. Naruto just stuffed his face with ramen for an hour.

"Of course."

"Oh. Hey Hinata, let me see your necklace."

"What for?"

"Just trust me." Reluctantly, Hinata handed him the necklace. He removed his own. "Watch this." He then tapped tapped the orange and purple parts together. Instantly, one little section of the orb began to glow brighter. "This will only work once. And only once with one person."

"What did you do?" NAruto smiled.

"You see how the two bright lights are glowing right at each other?" HInata nodded. "Now, these will show us what direction we are. So if I'm above you," Naruto walked up the wall and onto the ceiling. He tossed her her necklace. "The light will shine in the direction of my necklace, and where I am." It was true, the light on Hinata's necklace was shining in the direction of Naruto. "Pretty cool, right?"

"That's amazing. How did you figure that out?"

"When I bought yours for you, the Jeweler lady told me about that trick. It wasn't until now, seven months later, that I remember all about it." He checked the time. "I should meet them at the front gates soon." He dropped off the ceiling and landed in front of Hinata. "I love you Hinata. I'll be back in a week or two." He wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I love you too, Naruto. Good luck."

*** Time skip: 25 minutes

"Is Kirito always this late?" Naruto, Inori, and Yuri were standing by the front gates, waiting for Kirito.

"No, not usually. He almost always arrives early." Yuri just kept looking at the Village.

"Behind you." The squad whipped around to find Kirito sitting on a tree branch, cleansing his swords. "I was watching to see how long it would take you to notice me."

Naruto sighed. "Well, at least we're all here now." He sat down. "As of right now, we have two options. One: Walk for several days before we reach this village. In which the killer might claim a few more victims. Which I don't like. Two: We get there as fast as possible. We could probably make it there tomorrow evening if we stop for sleep and stuff. I'm personally a fan of the second option. What do you guys think?"

Inori: "It doesn't matter to me. Whatever makes you happy.

Kirito: "I hate unnecessary loss of life. We should hustle."

Yuri: "I'm with Kirito and you. We should probably hurry."

"All right then. Let's go!"

*** Time Skip: Around 30 Hours

"This place doesn't seem like it would have a murderer. It's a rather nice and quiet village." Yuri just looked around. Fruit stands and baths and inns lined the streets. People flooded the roads like a giant wave. Although, none of them really looked like a murderer.

"I'll go get us checked in to an inn with a bath house in it. You guys meet me at the front gates half an hour from now. And don't be late." He shot quick glances at all of them, and they nodded rapidly back. "Good. See you in half an hour." The truth was, almost all the inns in the Village had a bath house in it. And one of them was conveniently located next to Naruto.

*** Time Skip: 28 Minutes

"Dammit Kirito. Why do you always do this to me?!" Naruto was at the front gates,

on the ground, on his knees, fists in the air, and yelling Kirito's name.

"Sensei. Yuri. Inori. I'm right behind you. On the second floor." It was true. Kirito was poking his head out the window and waving down at them. Naruto was in his face in an instant.

"YOU! Why the hell do you always do this?!"

"That doesn't matter. What really matters is that I'm not late." Calmly, Kirito fell back into the room of the inn. "This is our room right? I saw you walk in here. I guessed that this is where we will be sleeping."

Naruto ignored him and jumped from beside the wall. "All right." He handed Yuri the key. "You will be in room 212. You will be in the room next to me and Kirito, room 211. The bath house is accessible through the lobby, you will have to find it yourself. It is separate bathing too. Be back in your room by 9:30. That is when we will start our nightly scouting. Tell this to Kirito too." He turned around and started to walk away.

"What are you going to do? What will Inori and I do for three hours?"

"I'm going to get dinner and stuff. You do whatever you want. Just don't get hurt or anything like that."

Naruto found a ramen stand quickly. It wasn't as good as Ichiraku's, no one's was, but it filled him up.

*** Person Skip: Kirito

"Just let me fight, you old hag. I'm not just any random kid that stumbled into this club."

"Do you really think that you can win a fight here, boy?"

"I don't plan to win a fight. I plan to win them all."

The old man nodded. "Okay. There a a few rules first. One: No Jewelry of any kind, that includes your headband. Two: The only weapon allowed is yourself. You can't use those swords, just your fists and feet. Three: No cheap shots. Four: You will win 100 dollars every time you win a fight. And 150 dollars every time you lose. And assuming you beat everyone, you will win a 500 dollar bonus prize. Six: Fighting is only allowed in the octagon. Everywhere else is off limits. Seven: Once you lose ten fights, you leave. There is no win limit. Eight: No broken bones: We decide when the fight is over. Nine: Don't make too many enemies. Now, leave your stuff and go in."

*** Time skip: Around thirty seconds

"Hey kid! You don't just take a sip of my drink and expect to get away with it!" Kirito turned

around and stared the man in the face.

"Fight me in the rink then." He ignored the various insults coming from behind him and just stepped onto the octagon-shaped rink. The man climbed onto the rink behind him.

"You are the challenger you make the rules. Speak up, kid."

"Oh, so that's how it is. Well, we will fight for thirty seconds. First hit wins. Best out of three wins. Is that okay?"

"Of course. I can't lose to a brat like you." The man was actually quite big, and strong.

"Okay then. We will start the timer on my command. When I say the words 'Asuna,' start the timer and keep count." The scrawny looking referee just nodded his head. He stood for a second, looking at the man before him. He had a confident look in his eyes and face. He flexed his muscles, intimidating Kirito. "Asuna."

*** Person Skip: Yuri and Inori

"I never miss." She had broken all the plates at the carnival game. She hadn't missed one. She hit them all in the dead center.

"Okay miss. What do you want as your prize?"

"I don't want any prizes. Just target practice." Yuri motioned for Inori to walk with her. And they walked away. "Hey Inori, iT sure is lucky we came across this carnival right?" Inori just nodded. "Do you see any games I would be good at?"

"Yeah. Over there." She pointed to a small stand over by the end of the street. "It looks like some sort of speed throwing game."

"Cool. Let's go check it out."

It was exactly as Inori said it was. You were given twenty plastic kunai. You're objective was to hit seven plastic plates that were lined against the wall. "I could beat this easy."

"I'm sure you would. But the sign says you can only throw one a time. Not seven at once."

"Whatever. I bet I can still beat the record. Just like all the other games I played."

"Would one of you ladies like to play?"

"Of course. If you don't mind, what is the record on this game?"

"Wow. I can't believe this person. He got 2.15 seconds. All perfect throws. Do you think you can beat it?"

"I know I can. Now, can I please have the kunai?" He laid them out for her.

"Miss, I the timer starts when you hit that first plate on the left. And it ends when you hit the one on the very right. Understand?"

"Of course. Could you please get out of the way?" The man stepped out of the way. The kunai whizzed by his head. "Done." Broken plastic shards lay on the floor. The kunai were lodged inside the wall where the plates had been.

"1.02 seconds. Miss, you are an expert at this. Who taught you?"

"Well, my parents did. And they taught my three siblings too." Then, under her breath, "they would be better than me if they were still here."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, sorry. I just like to talk to myself. That's all."

*** Person Skip: Kirito: Time Skip: 2 hours

"So, if I beat all ten of you, I will win 1,000 dollars?"

"Correct. And If we beat you, you give away 1,500 dollars."

"Okay." Kirito stood in the middle of the rink, which was surrounded by ten rather large men. He readied his stance. "Asuna."

It was over in less than ten seconds. Ten men littered the floor around Kirito. They were alive, but beaten. Not too bad physically, but mentally. They had all been beat by a kid who was no more than twelve or thirteen. The pride and honor were long lost. And they had all lost ten fights.

"Not bad kid." A huge, muscular man stood up, clapping. "I like the way you operate. One hit loses. I never thought of fighting that way before."

"If you want to fight, get up here. I'll beat you too."

"I accept. But, let's make a wager first."

"Okay, what."

"You're the second person to never lose a fight here. I'm the first. If I win, I get all your winnings." He pointed to a sack of money that held Kirito's winnings. "But if you win, you get my money." He pointed to a slightly larger bag. "Let's fight." Kiritp just looked into his eyes.

"I know those eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"Those are the eyes of a murderer."

"Bullshit! What are you talking about? I've never killed anyone!"

"You're the one that's bullshitting me. I can clearly see that pain and hate in your eyes. You are driven by hate. You desire revenge. But you don't know how to get it. Your hate caused you to come to this place. Your hate caused you to beat the shit out of tons of people. And your hate caused you to kill fifteen different, innocent people. I don't like people who are driven by hate. You do stupid and insane things a sane person would never do. It isn't rational. You desire power for your revenge. But what do you do when you have your revenge? That's the end of the road. I despise people like you. Let go of your hate, it's destroying you. You may not notice it, but it is. Tell me what happened."

"My parents were murdered. By Leaf Shinobi. They looked like you."

"Is this the battle of Henzu Waterfall? Third Shinobi World War?"

"Yes, why?"

"My parents were killed in that battle. The killers of your parents are dead. And all your victims looked like me and my parents." Kirito walked up to him. "But, I have to kill you. You are a murderer. I cannot let you go." Kirito went back to the octagon. "These are the rules: We fight to the death. No weapons, just our fists and feet. Sticks and stones. No breaks. You do not leave the rink. No jutsu."

"All right. I accept. I did kill those people, and you will be next."

*** Time Skip: 1 hour Place Skip: Roof of the Inn

"I wonder where Kirito is. He can't have gone far this time."

"True. I didn't." Kirito was running along the street, with two large bags trailing behind him.

"Oh, Kirito. Where have you been?" He jumped onto the roof.

"Sorry I'm late. I was just apprehending the murderer. And making a profit." He held up the bags of money.

"Oh, you went there. Yuri and I passed that place when we went to the carnival. I had no idea you were in there."

"Say, Kirito. I believe that you did kill the murderer. But why do you have several thousand dollars in those bags?"

"I'll explain when we get back to the Village. I'm tired of this place, let's get out."


End file.
